Utility Fire in 770 Lefferts

770 Lefferts Avenue, the condominium development between Troy and Schenectady Avenues, emptied out early Morning morning as a smoky fire in a utility room brought 10 fire trucks to the street outside.

Overheating extension cords were the cause of the blaze, which caused minor damage to the closet-sized ground floor room housing water pipes for the building, said Deputy Chief Jakubowski of the New York City Fire Department. The alarm came in shortly after 10:00 a.m., said the official, and, although the situation was resolved within the brief space of approximately half an hour, a pile of blackened debris and the pried-off utility room door bore silent witness to what had occurred.

The extension cords had been used to power a small space heater, which was kept in the room to prevent the water pipes from freezing in cold weather. After this morning’s incident, building management is considering installing a dedicated electrical line instead.

The acrid smell of burnt insulation lingered in the building’s courtyard as residents, including mothers with babies and one man in Tallis and Tefillin, milled about while the firefighters worked. Boruch Hashem, there were no injuries and no significant smoke or water damage, said the FDNY chief.