2-alarm Thanksgiving Day fire causes havoc in Brooklyn Heights

November 29, 2024 Mary Frost

More than 100 firefighters and EMS personnel from 25 units battled a two-alarm fire at 76 Remsen St.in Brooklyn Heights at noon on Thanksgiving day. Photo by Marc A. Hermann

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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — More than 100 firefighters and emergency workers from 25 units battled a two-alarm fire at 76 Remsen St., a pre-war co-op in Brooklyn Heights at noon on Thanksgiving day.

The fire caused extensive damage to a fourth-floor apartment and led to the evacuation of two buildings due to high levels of carbon monoxide, according to a New York City Fire Department spokesperson. While no injuries were reported, the fourth-floor co-op is not inhabitable at this time.

FDNY units fought a manhole fire under this car in front of 73 Remsen St., which extended into the building across the street at 76 Remsen. Photo by Marc A. Hermann

Firefighters with hearts of gold rescued and packed up the prepared Thanksgiving dinner for a family in an evacuated building with high carbon monoxide levels, however, allowing the residents to bring it to a relative’s house and eat there.

“It’s an extremely distressing situation — especially on a holiday like Thanksgiving, to be able to go that extra mile and help these people,” an FDNY spokesperson said.

Firefighters had to wait for Con Edison to turn off the power at several different locations before they could extinguish the flames in the manhole under this car. Photo by Marc A. Hermann

The 9-1-1 call regarding a car fire at 73 Remsen St. came in at 12:05 p.m. on Thursday. When FDNY units got to the scene, they found a manhole fire under the car, which then extended into the building across the street at 76 Remsen.

FDNY units found elevated carbon monoxide levels along the block. Photo by Marc A. Hermann

“We were in the process of suppressing the flames underneath the car and also checking the surrounding properties for carbon monoxide or any extension into the buildings. At that time we determined that there was an extension into the building, 76 Remsen St., directly opposite the manhole,” a spokesperson at the scene on Wednesday said, according to an audio provided by FDNY. “At that point fire broke out on the fourth floor of that building,” which became “fully involved with the fire.”

Units stretched hose lines to suppress the flames and found elevated carbon monoxide levels on the block, which led to the evacuation of two buildings.

Two residential buildings on Remsen Street were evacuated just after noon on Thanksgiving Day due to high carbon monoxide levels and multiple manhole fires along the street. Photo by Marc A. Herman

Con Ed had tough time cutting the power

The fact that the fire originated in the manhole underneath the car made the it very difficult to extinguish, “Because electrical fires are very difficult to put out when you don’t kill the power,” the FDNY spokesperson said.

Firefighters had to wait for Con Edison to arrive at the scene to turn off the power, and doing so proved difficult, he said. “They had to cut the power at several different locations before the flames in the manhole could actually be extinguished. Once the fire subsided in the manhole we were able to put out the car fire.”

Firefighters stretched hoses as flames broke out on the fourth floor of 76 Remsen St., directly across the street from the initial car and manhole fire. Photo by Marc A. Hermann

The manhole issues on the street were extensive Thursday afternoon. Shortly after 2 p.m., FDNY tweeted that there were “multiple manhole fires on Remsen Street.”

The fire was under control at 1:25 p.m. Its cause and origin, in both the street and at 76 Remsen St., remained under investigation by FDNY Fire Marshals as of Friday afternoon.

Multiple fire chiefs coordinated more than 100 firefighters at the scene of the Thanksgiving Day fire on Remsen Street. Photo by Marc A. Hermann

“I am devastated by the Thanksgiving day fire that destroyed homes on Remsen Street,” Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint) told the Brooklyn Eagle. “I am in touch with one of the families and we will do everything we can to support our neighbors through this tragedy and ensure there is a full investigation into what happened.”

NYC’s aging power grid is behind many manhole fires, but Heights resident Jeffrey Smith, who has worked in the management of electrical maintenance and repair operations for 30 years, warned of the danger of power shorts or arching caused by electrical surges, and recommended buildings look into line protection.

Firefighters climbed through fourth-floor windows at 76 Remsen St. to an apartment that was rendered uninhabitable by the fire. Photo by Marc A. Hermann

“These threat interrupters/filters are placed at the first input point of power entering a residential building or industrial production area. Think of a line protector for a computer, only on a larger more sophisticated level,” he told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Con Edison emergency vehicles remained on the scene throughout Friday and power remained shut down at 76 Remsen St. into Friday.

Multiple manhole fires broke out along Remsen Street at the time of the building fire. Photo by Marc A. Hermann

The building, which has 6 floors and 26 units, filed a job on Friday with the Department of Buildings to conduct emergency electrical work affecting the A line due to the fire, as well as replace about 10 feet of cold water line in the basement with new copper pipe.