Fire officials are investigating the cause of an early-morning fire in Brooklyn that injured five firefighters, two of them seriously – hours after another fire in the borough claimed the life of a man.
Flames broke out around 4:30 this morning on the first floor of a single-family home on 192 Concord Street in Downtown, Brooklyn.
Residents on the block between Duffield and Gold Streets were evacuated from their buildings.
"We just walked up after being out and there were massive flames coming out of the building. It was pretty intense," said one local resident.
"I actually ran out of the building with just my jacket on and a pair of shoes. No socks, no money, no keys, no phone," said another evacuated resident.
The fire was brought under control around two hours later, but not before heavy smoke and fire forced the New York City Fire Department to attack the flames from the outside using a tower ladder.
Several firefighters were injured on the way out of the building.
"Two of the firefighters were injured seriously as they were exiting the building,” said Deputy Fire Chief Vincent Mandala. “The banister for the stairwell gave way and they both came down on top of each other. So they were transported to Bellevue immediately.
And the other three were minor burns and what not, just usual firefighting injuries." The Red Cross is helping people displaced by the fire, which gutted the building and forced the temporary evacuation of residents along the block.
It is not clear how the fire started but investigators say it does not appear to be suspicious. There is some concern about the stability of the front wall of the building. But neighbors have been let back into their buildings.
The fire comes hours after a deadly fire in Bushwick.
Flames broke out at 732 Decatur Street at around 10:30 last night.
A 35-year-old man was killed in the blaze.
Two others, an 81-year-old man and 40-year-old woman were hospitalized in stable condition.
Republished with permission of NY1.
