Firefighters Battle Brooklyn Warehouse Blaze

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Plumes of smoke were visible this morning here in Crown Heights along with the strong smell of smoke which you can still smell now. All this was due to this fire in Greenpoint, which has gone up to a 10th alarm, the largest ever in a decade, other then the 9-11 attacks.

Greenpoint, Broooklyn — A warehouse fire on the East River in Brooklyn on Tuesday sent plumes of thick black smoke over the city that could be seen for miles, as firefighters battled it for hours from land and boats. Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta called it the largest fire in the city in more than a decade, excluding the World Trade Center attack, and said the cause was suspicious.

Flames enveloped the complex of seven vacant warehouses, blocking out the morning light and filling the Greenpoint neighborhood with acrid smoke, and collapsing several building walls.

Many more pictures in the Extended Article!

Fire in the Razag Ballroom

At around 6:00pm on Friday the automatic fire alarm went off calling the Fire Dept. down for a fire in the Kitchen Area, since the hall is a school as well (Bnos Menachem) an “all hands” was call and nearly 30 different Fire Trucks showed up.

The fire had been put out by the buildings sprinkler system and all that was left was a lot of smoke in the kitchen, the Fire Chief called the fire a suspicious fire due to the fact that that part of the kitchen is labeled ‘pantry’ but is right above the stoves in the ‘Fleishig Kitchen’, the final on the fire is that it seems to have been due to a fault in some of the electrical wiring.

More pictures in the Extended Article.

And The Fires Just Dont Stop Burning!

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Firefighters battled a heavy fire on the top floor of a four-story apartment building in Brooklyn Tuesday morning.

The three-alarm fire at 1299 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section was reported at 7:52 a.m., said Fire Department spokesman David Billig.

“There’s a very heavy volume of fire on the top floor,” said Billig.

Truck Goes up in Flames

Monday Morning at 6:50am a Tractor Trailer burst into flames, this took place in the parking lot of the Associated Supermarket on Nostrand Ave. between Montgomery and Empire, this parking extends right alongside Malbone St. where all of the houses there are home to Jewish families.

FDNY took a few minutes to respond and put out the flames, which had left a cloud of thick black smoke in the air. The cause of this fire in unknown and is still under investigation. As one of the commenter’s said on the previous fire ‘Der Shtut Brent’ well after this one…

More pictures in the Extended Article! (Special Thanks to Gedaliah Robinson for sending us these pictures!)

3 Alarm Fire Burns House Down To The Frame

10 minutes before Shabbos was over the sound of sirens filled the air, and fire trucks were seen rushing from all directions to the scene of a massive fire on Brooklyn Ave. and Rutland Rd. what started out as a smoke condition quickly turned into a Mayday then a Second Alarm Then immediately a Third Alarm.

A fire fighter that was inside checking out the smoke condition got trapped on the second floor and called a Mayday and was then forced to jump, being as high that it was, they positioned the bucket ladder and the fire fighter jumped into it getting lightly injured, numerous other firefighters were injured from smoke inhalation. The fire was particularly hard to put out, due to the fact that it was so badly embedded in the building, time and time again the fire kept coming back from different parts. The fire lasted for over an hour.

Well over 40 Fire Trucks and Ladders responded with even more Ambulances and Special Services Vehicles.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Ambulette Bursts into flames on Montgomery and Kingston

One of the ‘Major Ambulette’ vans was dropping off a patient today at the building on the corner of Montgomery and Kingston, when the driver noticed smoke coming out of his dashboard. He immediately exited the van and poured water into the air vent in attempt to stop whatever was happening. A minute later the window fogged up and flames began coming out of the dashboard and engine bay quickly engulfing the entire van in flames, and from the heat of the fire the driver side airbag exploded.

Shomrim members had arrived immediately on scene and quickly instructed bystanders to stay back and away from the van, and seconds later from the intensity of the flames, the windows exploded in a shower of hot glass where bystanders were standing just moments earlier. Also from the heat the headlights and tail lights of the cars parked next to this van had melted! FDNY arrived 3 minutes after the call to 911 and put the fire out, the roof was a problem since its made of fiber glass it absorbs flames therefore they had to tear up the entire roof to make sure there was no fire there. Debris from the fire and fiberglass roof littered the street and parked call all around the van.

The driver who is 50 and has been working for ‘Major Ambulette’ which operates out of Staten Island, for 2 years said that there were no known issues with the van and it had operated well, until today.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Manhole Explosion Displaces Building Full of Residents

At around 8:00pm at the intersection of Troy Ave. & Lefferts Ave. a loud explosion went off, sending a manhole cover flying 15’ in air and landing back in the hole. The manhole is where all the Transformers and Electricity Cables are run through and it services that 6 square block radius.

Street lamps were seen flickering and the entire area smelled of burnt rubber. 2 Battalion Chief’s and 9 Fire Trucks responded to the call, during which a small home where a Jewish family lives also call 911 due their house filling up with smoke. FDNY quickly deployed and checked out all the surrounding buildings for faults and problems with the electricity, and found only one building 762 Empire Blvd. that had suffered from the explosion and evacuated the entire building then cut the electricity.

According to the 41st Battalion Chief Young, the explosion was caused by a strong corrosive chemical contained in the salt that is used on the streets to prevent icing. Apparently it seeped into the manhole and ate away the rubber shielding on the wires, causing short-circuits and finally the explosion.

All residents of 762 Empire were ordered to evacuate the building due to hazardous conditions, families that were in the middle of cooking supper or putting the little children to sleep were forced out barely dressed enough to withstand the cold night, so a member of the Shomrim got one of the Bais Rivkah School buses and parked it in front of the building giving parents a warm place to sit with the young ones, the parents were very thankful to Shomrim as was the FDNY.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Fire tears up 3 homes in Flatbush, Fire Men Injured

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Last night [Thursday] at around 8:00pm a fire broke out in a Jewish home in Flatbush, the fire started out on the second floor of the house and then broke out in the basement of the house as well then spreading to the whole house. Due to the winds and the heat of the fire the house next door also caught fire.

While fire fighters were fighting the flames in these 2 houses, another fire broke out across the street and according to fire officials, the 2 incidents did not appear to be related and both fires appear to have started due faulty electrical wiring. The incident brought over 40 fire engines and reporters from major news stations, including CBS and Brooklyn-12.

More pictures in the Extended Article, along with a report from CBS.