Ditmas Park Fire Injures 8, Engulfs 3-Story Victorian (Updated)

Photos courtesy of @NYScanner/Twitter

DITMAS PARK, BROOKLYN — A fire engulfed a vacant three-story Victorian home in Ditmas Park Wednesday afternoon, injuring two civilians and six firefighters, according to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).

More than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze at 474 Stratford Road around 12:40 p.m., and brought it under control by about 2:30 p.m., an FDNY spokesman said.

Six firefighters suffered minor injuries and were taken to area hospitals, the spokesman said, while the two civilians left the scene without receiving treatment from emergency medical responders.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Ditmas Park resident Anthony Finkel said he came out of his nearby office at the Flatbush Development Corporation when he and his co-workers "started seeing and smelling the smoke."

"The whole sky was black," Finkel said. "You couldn't even breathe."

Finkel said a photographer at the scene told him two people emerged from the property after the fire started.

Finkel said he was familiar with the property and that it wasn't officially occupied. However, he said it's not uncommon for people to squat in the surrounding neighborhood's empty buildings.

In May, 2015, inspectors from the Department of Buildings responded to a complaint that the property was "not locked," city records show.

"People have access in and out," the complaint said.

However, the DOB recorded that the house was "fenced" at the time of inspection, with "all door/windows in place and mostly plywood boarded." No violation was issued.