NEW YORK, NY – A fast-spreading fire in a Brooklyn residential building tragically claimed three lives and injured 14 others, as reported by FDNY officials. The early morning blaze took hold in a Crown Heights building around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. Firefighters promptly responded to the scene, where they encountered a challenging situation. The fire had originated on the ground floor and quickly spread, engulfing the entire three-story building.
According to Chief John Esposito of the FDNY, the severe smoke and flames made the task considerably taxing for the firefighters. “A fire operation like this, when you have heavy fire on multiple floors of the building, it’s time-consuming to extinguish,” he stated. “We had to stretch multiple hand lines to each floor. Very dangerous operation for all firefighters.”
Three victims, critically injured and in dire need of immediate CPR, were rushed to nearby hospitals. Sadly, according to FDNY updates, the three individuals were later declared dead at the hospital. The other patients on the scene mostly suffered from smoke inhalation and were released after a preliminary assessment. A city firefighter also sustained serious injuries in the line of duty but is expected to recover.
The exact cause that sparked the fire remains unknown. In addition to the mysterious cause, it has yet to be determined whether the building was equipped with functioning smoke detectors at the time that the fire broke out.