Bed-Stuy Has Highest Number Of Fire Deaths In BK: City

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Eight people perished due to fires in Bed-Stuy last fiscal year, according to a city agency scorecard released last week.

That’s the highest number in Brooklyn. And, aside from the heartbreaking Twin Parks fire in the Bronx last January, where 17 people lost their lives, it’s the most for any neighborhood citywide.

Overall, Bed-Stuy faced 539 structure fires over the past fiscal year, itself not an especially high number. It’s only 19 fewer than nearby Greenpoint. But in Greenpoint, only two people died as a result.

And in Canarsie, where the district saw 651 structure fires, only one death occurred.

Even in the Bronx district where the tragic Twin Parks fire occurred, there was only one additional fire death outside of the 17 who died last January.

An FDNY spokesperson emphasized that the community is serviced by highly experienced firefighters across multiple engine and ladder companies. He also noted the importance of fire safety education, like the importance of smoke alarms, and noted that 70 FDNY safety events had been held in Bed-Stuy’s Community District 3 in 2022 so far.

The spokesperson also noted that after any fatal fire, FDNY’s community outreach hosts fire safety tables in high-traffic areas near where the fire occurred.

Council member Chi Ossé’s office said that they regularly partner with the FDNY to help host fire safety seminars across his Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights district.

Additionally, the Mayor’s Management Report showed that FDNY response time to structure fires increased on average by 10 seconds city-wide. The New York Post reports that city officials claim it could be a result of increased traffic congestion.

Requests for comment from the Mayor’s office went unanswered.

Last winter, Patch reported on 10 Bed-Stuy fires in 11 days, leaving 52 people without homes, 11 injured and one dead.