'Very Difficult' Fire Breaks Out On Lenox Road In Brooklyn: FDNY

BROOKLYN, NY — More than 150 firefighters were sent to Lenox Road on Wednesday after a "very difficult" fire broke out on the top floor of an apartment building, according to officials.

Firefighters were sent to the 222 Lenox Rd. building, found between Nostrand and Rogers avenues, around 10:40 a.m., according to the FDNY.

The blaze, which quickly escalated to a four-alarm fire, took nearly two hours and around 170 firefighters to put out. It was marked under control by 12:45 p.m. and did not cause any injuries, officials said.

"The fire turned out to be in four separate apartments and it got into what we call the cockloft, which is the space between the top floor ceiling and the roof. It makes it very difficult to access," FDNY Chief of Department Thomas Richardson told reporters at a press conference.

"The firefighters got up there with many hose lines and were able to expose the fire and extinguish it fairly quickly."

Richardson said there seemed to be some type of work happening on the roof at the time of the fire, though it is unclear what was the cause of the blaze.

The Lenox Road building includes seven stories and 168 apartments, according to building records. It also is home to U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke's Brooklyn offices, which take up suites one and two in the building, according to her website.

Richardson did not know whether the congresswoman's office suffered any damage.

The Brooklyn blaze was the third major fire across the city within just several hours Wednesday morning.

Firefighters also battled a five-alarm blaze in Harlem and three-alarm fire on 43rd Street in Brooklyn that morning, according to FDNY alerts.

When asked whether understaffing due to the city worker vaccine mandate has played a part, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro pointed out that such fires are common as the seasons change. Three of the recent fires, like the Flatbush blaze, have spread to the cockloft, which often escalates it to a multiple alarm.

"We have looked very carefully at these multiple-alarms that occur each and every year as the weather gets cold, and the performance of our members has been fantastic," he said.

Only four of FDNY's 350 units were out of service as of Thursday, Nigro said, adding that on a typical day throughout the year as many as 20 units can be out of commission for training or maintenance reasons.

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