Colonia Verde Closed For Dinner After Fire: Worker, FDNY

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — Dozens of firefighters responded to a fire at a Fort Greene apartment building-slash eatery Wednesday afternoon, but a restaurant worker at the scene said that the blaze wasn't serious, Patch learned.

The fire began at about 2 p.m. at 219 DeKalb Avenue, a four-story building where Colonia Verde, a popular Latin American restaurant, is located, according to the FDNY.

Fire officials told Patch that the blaze began on the first floor of the building, which is the site of the restaurant, promoting 60 firefighters to rush to the scene.

Colonia Verde beverage director (and former Patch reporter), Noah Manskar, told Patch that the officials who responded were just there as a precaution.

"I hear from our general manager that there was only smoke in the building, no active flames," he told Patch in writing. "I’m told the smoke was coming out of small gaps in the walls. Whatever was causing it appeared to be between the first and second floors." The general manager was at the scene of the fire, he said.

A fire department spokesperson couldn't confirm the details of how and where the Fort Greene blaze started, but said that it's common for firefighters to respond to a report of smoke and get the fire under control before it becomes serious.

"It's not always a Hollywood fire that's a raging inferno," he told Patch. "A lot of times it'll be a small fire inside the walls and it ends up being man power intensive to find the fire and prevent it from spreading."

Officials said that the fire at 219 DeKalb was under control in less than an hour, adding that no one was hurt in the process.

Colonia Verde will be closed for dinner Wednesday night, Manskar said.