A two-alarm fire left a Flatbush home uninhabitable and two firefighters injured on Tuesday night.
The blaze broke out in a two-story single family home on the 800 block of Brooklyn Avenue, near Linden Boulevard, at about 8 p.m. on March 31, according to the FDNY.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy fire on the first floor of the home and flames spreading through the rear and onto a neighboring building and quickly triggered a second alarm, bringing a total of 141 fire and EMS personnel to the scene.
“I smelled heavy smoke, I went out to investigate and I turned the corner to orange flames and firefighters racing to the scene,” one neighbor told Brooklyn Paper. “It looked like a movie.”
First responders quickly deployed three hose lines — threading them over a car parked in front of the hydrant — and worked aggressively to knock down the main body of the fire inside the home.
Two firefighters were taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, per the FDNY, but no civilians were harmed. The fire was placed under control about an hour just after 9 p.m.
The blaze left the home badly damaged, and the Department of Buildings issued a full vacate order early on Wednesday morning. There were holes in the roof, records show, and that the roof and rear of the home were charred.
An inspector also noted that the homeowner had previously been cited for illegally using the basement as a commercial woodworking shop, and had installed new electrical wiring, partitions and a shed without a permit.
Records show that after the DOB issued a citation in 2022, the homeowner “removed excessive combustible material” and columns from the basement and had dismantled the shed in the yard. At the time, “no contrary occupancy” was observed.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the FDNY fire marshal.
