A fire tore through an East New York home on Tuesday night, displacing several people and injuring one.
The blaze broke out in a two-story home at 331 Van Siclen Ave. just after 5:30 p.m., per the FDNY. When firefighters arrived on the scene, flames had engulfed the rear of the building, spreading from the first floor to the attic.
Roughly 100 firefighters battled the blaze for over an hour, and finally brought it under control shortly before 7 p.m. Nearby fire hydrants, though still covered in snow, were fully functional during the operation.
One person was left with minor injuries, per the FDNY, but eight people were displaced. The home sustained significant smoke and water damage, including charred structural elements and a hole in the roof, city records show. The Department of Buildings issued a full vacate order after inspecting the property.
The Red Cross provided eight residents with emergency financial assistance, according to News12, and gave five emergency housing.
In its post-fire inspection, the DOB also found that the two-family home had been illegally converted into a five-family dwelling.
The department received two complaints about an illegal conversion at the home last year, records show. One complaint, filed last September, alleged that the building owner had “extended and remodeled the whole house without permits and rented to many illegal occupants.”
DOB inspectors tried to gain access to the property four times last fall, but were denied or ignored. The property is not currently registered with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
The home’s recorded owner, Ashraful Islam, also owns a Crown Heights apartment building that was hit with a stop work order last summer for construction without a permit, documents show. Brooklyn Paper was not able to reach Islam for comment.
Tuesday’s fire was East New York’s third in less than a week. Firefighters battled two separate residential fires in the nabe on Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7.
