Photo by Stefano Giovannini
The waterfront Williamsburg warehouse that went up in flames early on Saturday morning is still smoldering, and fire officials say it could continue for weeks.
More than 200 firefighters responded to the blaze at the CitiStorage facility on Kent Aveune between N. 10th and N. 11th streets over the weekend. The complex was used to store city and medical records, which the conflagration scorched and sent flying over neighboring areas.
The CitiStorage building is one of a handful of properties the city had vowed to buy to expand Bushwick Inlet Park, but which skyrocketed in value following the controversial 2005 rezoning of the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfront. The city now says it can’t afford the lots.
Check back for updates on the impact of the fire, and in the meantime check out epic photos of the scene from our photographer Stefano Giovannini.
HAZY DAY: A fire truck nearly disappears in the smoke coming off the warehouse.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
SMOKE EATERS: Some of New York’s Bravest do battle with the blaze.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
SPRAY IT: Two hundred firefighters hosed down the fire throughout Saturday.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
SMOKE-BOW: Some combination of water vapor coming off of the fire hose and smoke pouring out of the storage facility forms a rainbow, bottom center.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
LIGHT AT THE END: The sun is barely visible through the smoke.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
ALTERNATE SIDE: This is probably not what these cars’ owners had in mind when they left them parked curbside.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
PLAYING DE-FENCE: Firefighters take a shortcut through a green-plastic-draped fence.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
HARD HAT: Ice clings to the helmet of a firefighter working in the bitter cold.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
UN-MELLOW YELLOW: The smoke casts a surreal tint over everything.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
THE WIDE VIEW: The warehouse seen from across a lot.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
PRESSURE’S ON: The temperature works against the firefighting effort.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
WALKING THE BEAT: The haze clung to the ground for blocks.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
