A five-alarm fire spread to several apartment buildings in Hempstead, LI, early yesterday, killing an 8-year-old boy and injuring more than a dozen other people, authorities said.

More than 200 people were forced from their homes, and fire marshals said they were investigating.

The first flames appeared a third-floor apartment on St. Pauls Road North at 6:20 a.m., according to Nassau County police.