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One Person Critical After Fire Breaks Out in Fort Hamilton Parkway Building

December 11, 2018 Editorial Staff

ebrooklyn media/Photos by John Alexander

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One resident is reportedly in critical condition after a morning fire in Bay Ridge.

The FDNY responded to the conflagration that started in a fourth floor apartment at 9524 Fort Hamilton Parkway on Tuesday morning at 9:46 a.m., according to an FDNY spokesperson.

“There was smoke coming up to my apartment so I went to the apartment below and saw smoke, so I started banging on the door,” said Brendan Fitzgerald, a resident of the building for 36 years.

According to Fitzgerald, the victim’s cat, Squirrel, was found in the hallway, apparently making his escape when firefighters broke down the door to the apartment.

A woman who lives on the fourth floor said that she looked out her window and saw black smoke, and then saw that her kitchen window curtains were burning. “I grabbed my dog in my nighties, grabbed my jacket and then knocked on my neighbor’s door to make sure they were out,” she recalled.

Responders from multiple FDNY ladder companies were present on the scene including 109, 114, 168 and 149.

The firefighters initially had trouble completing their searches due to clutter conditions in the affected apartments. They had to enter the apartments by breaking the windows and throwing out the clutter, according to an FDNY spokesperson.

Sources told this paper that Firefighter Michael Monaco of Ladder 149 rescued the 71-year-old man who was found beneath debris. He was suffering from burns to his leg and arms, and was unconscious but alive.

The blaze in the six-story multiple dwelling was brought under control at 10:43 a.m.

According to the FDNY, the victim was quickly transported to Staten Island University Hospital in critical condition.

Along with the apartment of the victim, two other apartments were reportedly damaged in the fire.

Todd Maisel contributed reporting for this article.