Monday Afternoon Fire on Putnam Ave Injures Four

Fire officials are investigating a Monday afternoon fire on Putnam Avenue that injured four people and sent neighbors running into the street to escape the thick smoke.

On Monday, April 14, at around 1:50 p.m., 13 fire trucks and 65 firefighters were called to 348 Putnam Avenue between Nostrand and Marcy avenues regarding reports of flames shooting from the second-floor windows of a three-story brownstone.

A crowd of teens gathered along the fence across the street from the fire, in front of Old Boys High School where they had just been dismissed from school. And residents of the buildings adjacent to the fire poured out into the street after they smelled smoke and heard the fire sirens.

"My daughter who lives two doors down happened to be leaning out of her window and saw the flames coming out the window of the building," said Desiree, who lives in the building right next door to the fire:

"So she was the one who called me to tell me about it. Then, all of the neighbors started knocking on each others' doors to tell people to get out as soon as possible."

Another woman arrived frantic after leaving her job early when a friend alerted her that her neighbor's building had caught on fire:

"Aw man, my dogs, my dogs," she said pacing and looking up at her building from about 15 yards away. "They won't let me get in there to get my dogs, and I'm worried about them with all of that smoke."

And another woman was tearful and clearly upset, as she watched ambulance workers carrying away her friend on a stretcher after he was injured from smoke inhalation: "This is crazy," she said out loud. "He wasn't even supposed to be home. He told me he was going into work today!"

The fire was put out a little after 3:00 p.m. Four people were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Desiree said she heard one of the firefighters say the cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring, but fire officials could not confirm and are still investigating.