Arsonist Attacks Brooklyn Nightclub, Two Hurt In Blaze, Officials Say

BROOKLYN — Two people were hurt at a popular Brooklyn nightclub when a suspected arsonist threw a lit match on a floor doused with flammable liquid, sending shockwaves through a neighborhood known for its nightlife, according to authorities and witnesses.

The arsonist poured a bottle of flammable liquid on the floor of the Willoughby Avenue nightclub Rash about 9:20 p.m., then lit a match and fled, according to police.

A group of staff who narrowly escaped the flames waited outside for more than an hour as about 60 firefighters put out the blaze, according to the FDNY and witness Keaton Slansky.

"There was smoke pouring out of Rash and smoke pouring out of the basement," said Slansky, who saw the fire while walking to meet a friend at Mood Ring down the street. "People were wrapped in blankets and shaking — covered in ash and soot."

Two people hurt in the fire were sent to Wyckoff Hospital, according to FDNY.

There were no arrests as of Monday afternoon, police said.

The flames did not spread to the two floors above the nightclub, whose interior was decimated by the blaze, according to the FDNY and photos from the scene.

Rash — which posted an"Everyone is ok" message with a heart emoji on its Instagram page — did not immediately answer a request for comment from Patch.

Slanksy — who stopped to offer the victims help — said it seemed only half a dozen or so staff were inside at the time of the attack.

An event at the nightclub was slated to start at 10 p.m., according to their Instagram page.

"It was still very early for New York clubs on a Sunday," Slansky said. "Thank god it wasn't full."

Still, the blaze stunned a neighborhood known for its nightlife and queer spaces, particularly given a spate of other incidents at similar venues.

It comes only a few months after a fire in an upstairs apartment shut down Bossa Nova Civic Club, a similar nightclub just down the block.

Bossa Nova had just updated their security in the fall after a stabbing inside the club, according to reports.

Last fall, the Bed-Stuy queer bar C'Mon Everybody found a brick thrown through its window.

Slansky — who lives in Bushwick and identifies as queer and trans — said the string of incidents were top-of-mind when the police and fire trucks first sped by toward Rash.

"I kind of approached it knowing this is probably what this is going to be and it really sucks that I was right," Slansky said.

"It's all kind of connected to this sense of danger that pervades the city right now ... Even outside the context of Bushwick being a queer neighborhood, it was just like, 'Oh yeah, this is another night in New York where things are on fire and things are dangerous.'"