Eight people were displaced by a two-alarm fire at an East New York home on Thursday evening.
Firefighters arrived on the scene on Chestnut Street near Pitkin Avenue just before 5:30 p.m. on June 12, according to the FDNY, as heavy flames and smoke engulfed the second floor of a wood-frame home. The blaze was quickly upgraded in severity as more than 100 firefighters from two dozen units were called in.
The fire was extinguished shortly after 6 p.m., per the FDNY. Though no injuries were reported, the blaze left two buildings badly damaged and forced eight people out of their homes.
According to Department of Buildings records, the home where the fire started suffered “significant fire damage.” Several windows were broken and the home’s structural supports burned, per a violation issued on June 12. The department issued a full vacate order on the property.
A neighboring home was left with a large hole in the wall from firefighting efforts, records show, as firefighters attempted to find and extinguish “hot spots” in the wall. That home was also declared “noncompliant” with safety standards.
The American Red Cross was on the scene and received requests for assistance — including temporary housing and financial assistance — from five households comprising five adults.
