Fire on Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights injures 7 — 3 severely
Smoke filled the neighborhood
Henry Street resident James LaRosa said he saw an air conditioner on fire at 75 Pierrepont St. “Then it exploded and dropped to the ground,” he said. Photo courtesy of James LaRosa.
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — A fire broke out in a six-story rental building at 75 Pierrepont St. between Henry and Hicks streets in Brooklyn Heights on Monday at 3:34 p.m., injuring seven.
Two residents and one firefighter were transported to area hospitals with severe injuries, according to a Fire Department spokesperson. In addition, three residents refused medical attention, and an additional firefighter was evaluated on the scene and refused transport to a hospital.
Pierrepont Street remained blocked off as firefighters smashed windows to release smoke. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
The blaze temporarily trapped several upper-floor residents on the fire escape in the freezing cold, and quickly filled the neighborhood with billowing smoke.
Crowds gathered on the streets watching the massive response consisting of 21 units with 79 Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel.
Residents watch from Love Lane as firefighters work on the rear of the 75 Pierrepont St. building. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
Saw flames shooting out a window
“I was walking by when I saw a woman yelling ‘Fire!’ out her third-floor window,” Henry Street resident James LaRosa told the Brooklyn Eagle. “I saw an air conditioner on fire. Then it exploded and dropped to the ground.”
LaRosa, who shared images of the fire with the Eagle, said he called 911 and FDNY arrived there in roughly 30 seconds, so he assumed others called as well.
Another local resident, Ian Salisbury, said he saw a young woman wearing shorts and wrapped in a blanket helped from the building, and another woman, covered in soot, carried out on a stretcher. “She looked alert,” he said.
Deliberately-smashed windows can be seen from the Love Lane side of the 75 Pierrepont St. building. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
Salisbury’s fifth-grade daughter Jan estimated the time of the arrival of the fire trucks as roughly 3:45 p.m. or slightly thereafter, based on the time it took her to walk home after school.
Firefighters on ladders smashed in all the windows of the building to let smoke out. The blaze was under control at 4:29 p.m., according to FDNY.
Fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.
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