4-Alarm Fire East Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY 09.15.2012

FDNY put out a 4-alarm fire, Box 2303, where a blaze engulfed a Brooklyn Fine Fare supermarket at 405 Remsen Avenue early Saturday afternoon. The fire apparently started in the basement of the supermarket.  All companies were withdrawn and went to an exterior firefighting operation. The blaze escalated to a four-alarm fire shortly after 2:00 p.m. before firefighters were able to get the flames under control. The FDNY said no injuries were reported.











New York City Fire Department officials are still investigating the cause of a supermarket fire that blazed in East Flatbush, Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. Investigators say the fire started in the basement of the one-story building on Remsen Avenue.

"We had a total of four handlines stretched at any given time and in operation. It was a punishing job, as I said, and we were very fortunate that we were able to keep it in the supermarket's cellar," said FDNY Chief James Esposito.

No major injuries were reported other then the fire chief saying there were only a few smoke-related injuries.








(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Lightening Strike at 665 New York Avenue, Brooklyn Causes 7 Alarm Fire 07.26.2012

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A lightning strike sparked a massive fire that broke out in a residential building in the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens section of Flatbush Thursday morning. A lighting strike hit 456 Brooklyn Ave. at 9:47 a.m. and the 7-story building on New York Avenue caught fire at 10:08 a.m., according to the FDNY.






NEW YORK (AP) — A roaring fire engulfed the upper floors of an apartment building on Thursday, injuring dozens of firefighters and forcing more than 100 families to leave.

Hundreds of firefighters battled the flames, which erupted Thursday morning on a top floor of the seven-story building in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood and soon broke through the roof, the fire department said. Hours later, orange flames and dark, billowing smoke were still visible at the 106-unit building.

Authorities said 26 firefighters were hurt, one seriously, and one civilian was treated at the scene.

The fire was extinguished by mid afternoon. The cause of the fire was under investigation, but there was a report of a lightning strike just blocks away around the same time.

Resident Valma Brown heard a neighbor knocking on her second-floor door, telling her the building was burning. She said she grabbed a robe and threw it over her night clothes, then rushed into a smoke-filled hallway with four adults and two young boys.

"We walked through smoke. There was a lot of smoke, and everything was flying all over," she said, explaining that firefighters were breaking windows to get in. "The whole building was full of water."

The group then made its way through a back door downstairs to a patio.

The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter for displaced residents at a nearby public school.

Another resident, Shondelle Rodney, said she rushed home from work when a friend called her saying the building was on fire. Her older sister was still asleep in the family's fifth-floor apartment.

"She didn't hear anything, so we called her," Rodney said.

The sister got out, taking along their dog and cat, she said, "but the bird is still up there."

The other residents of the apartment — another sister, their mother and two children — were not home when the fire started.

The family planned to spend the night at the school. Rodney didn't know when they'd be able to return.









(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

SEVEN-ALARMS IN BROOKLYN, 3301 Atlantic Ave 07.23.2012

NEW YORK (AP) — A seven-alarm fire at a vacant commercial building in Brooklyn has been brought under control by firefighters who battled it for 16 hours.

The fire department says the blaze was contained at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Seven firefighters were injured. Three were taken to a hospital for treatment; their injuries were not immediately known. The other four were treated at the scene.

More than 200 firefighters and 54 units responded to the fire at the former food processing plant at 3:30 p.m. Monday.

The two-story brick building is at 3301 Atlantic Avenue in the Cypress Hills section.





Seven firefighters suffered minor injuries. Four were treated at the scene and three others were transported to a local hospital. Since the building is vacant and doesn’t have occupants, firefighters battled the blaze from the outside.

The seven-alarm fire also knocked out train service in the area throughout the night. The J train, which runs through the nearby Crescent Street station, has been bypassing that stop in both directions. However, service was restored at about 9:30 a.m.

Investigators may be at the building through Wednesday






(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Brooklyn NY: A Fatal 5 Alarm Blaze

On February 19, 2011 at around 6:30 pm, that evening, a five-alarm fire response was rung out for a fire at an apartment building located in Flatbush of Brooklyn, New York at 346 East 29th Street. Nearly 200 firefighters responded to the scene to battle the blaze.

A "Defensive Mode" of fighting the fire was conducted upon arrival of NYFD fire fighting crews because conditions were just too intense on the inside the apartment building.

"Conditions changed rapidly. The fire intensified, the windows failed. Due to the heavy wind, it blew the fire in, on the members on the upper floors...a blowtorch effect. It actually chased them down the hallway," said New York City Fire Department Deputy Chief Stephen Moro.

"This was bad because of the wind," stated Fire Chief Edward Kilduff, "We had to evacuate very quickly because basically the fire chased us right down the hall and down the stairs

Strong winds fanned the flames which took 200 firefighters more than nine hours to contain.

Fire officials say 60 firefighters were treated for injuries along with 11 building residents.

A wind-whipped blaze tore like a "blow torch" through a Brooklyn apartment building, killing a retired school guidance counselor who was discovered on the top floor of apartment building several hours after the fire was extinguished. The victim, Mary Feagin, 64, was described by residents as a wonderful neighbor who had lived in the building for roughly 30 years. "She cared for everybody in the apartment, in the building. She cared for everybody in the building, for everybody's well-being. She was just a wonderful, wonderful woman," said one of the apartment tenants stated. The city medical examiner stated the cause of death is pending further testing and investigation.

A dispatching error delayed the response of a second engine company to Saturdays deadly 5 alarm fire in Brooklyn, the FDNY is launching an internal probe into the matter.

A front door to the forth-floor apartment where the fire began was left open, feed the vicious flames. The open door helped fuel the blaze causing the fire to “blowtorch” throughout the building.

Uniform Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy says the staff cuts caused delays in getting water on the Saturday night blaze in Brooklyn.

The FDNY says that an open apartment door helped fuel the blaze, and it stoked by heavey winds.

The firefighters union said the response to the fire was hampered by new city rules that put four firefighters instead of five on some trucks.

New York City officials denied that clam.

The New York City Fire Department says the 5 alarm fire spread so quickly because someone left the door open in the apartment where it stated with strong winds fanned the flames the fatal night.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but NYFD Deputy Chief Moro said it did not appear to be suspicious.

FoX News: Brooklyn Blaze Kills 1, Injures More Than 20 Firefighters

NY1: Woman's Body Found In Wake Of Massive Brooklyn Fire

NY Daily News: Five-alarm blaze rips through Brooklyn building; 1 dead, 20 firefighters & 11 residents wounded

NY Post: Five-alarm Brooklyn fire leaves one dead

NY1: UFA: Engine Co. Reductions Hindered Response To Fatal Brooklyn Fire

NY Daily News: Open door turned Brooklyn fire into deadly inferno, fire officials say

The New York Times: Error Delayed Fire Dept. in Fatal Brooklyn Blaze

NY1: FDNY Investigates Delayed Response To Fatal Brooklyn Fire

(AP): New York City firefighters union blames fatal fire on staff shortage

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)