Crime & Safety
Drone Video: Massive Bushwick Fire Destroys 5 Buildings, Injures 11
Sirens woke up Brooklyn's Bushwick, Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy neighborhoods as the fire ran through 6 alarms and 5 row houses.
BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — A massive fire broke out late Tuesday night at 1427 Dekalb Ave. in Bushwick, tearing through five buildings between Wilson and Knickerbocker avenues and lighting up the Brooklyn skyline for miles.
Ten civilians and one firefighter were injured in the fire, which was stoked by strong winds blowing through Brooklyn, according to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).
An FDNY spokesman told Patch that all of the injuries were non-life-threatening.
Seven wounded people were treated at the scene, the spokesman said, and the other four were transferred to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick.
Tuesday night's fire broke out sometime just before 10 p.m. and wasn't declared under control until more than three hours later, around 1:20 a.m., the FDNY said.
By the time more than 200 firefighters had finished extinguishing the fire, five buildings were either destroyed or damaged, according to a department spokesman.
Dozens of Dekalb Avenue residents reportedly lost their homes in the fire — and dozens more were evacuated as a precaution, according to Bushwick Daily.
Speaking to NBC New York, one of the affected residents, who identified herself only as "Marilyn," said she was at a nearby store Tuesday night when she got a call from her husband and son. They told her their house was on fire.
"I ran in and all the smoke just came into us," Marilyn said in an interview with the news station. "I burst out crying because I lost everything in my house."
If anyone I know is being affected by the Bushwick fire right now, please, get in touch with me. I will do anything in my power to help.
— ✨Lady 3Jayne✨ (@lenorajayne) March 30, 2016
Photos and videos posted to social media by incredulous Bushwick residents showed flames shooting from the windows and rooftops of the five burning buildings along Dekalb. We've embedded some of the footage below.
According to Twitter user and Bushwick resident @4rilla, the fire destroyed a couple well-known pigeon coops on Dekalb. "RIP #bushwick pigeons... Watching you guys fly was a neighborhood joy," he wrote.
There were pigeon coops on top of the buildings in bushwick that were on fire and I'm crying about it
— ✨ rachel ✨ (@ohhoe) March 30, 2016
So my block is on fire.. #bushwick pic.twitter.com/OEyBhIYGKd
— Ernie (@erndb) March 30, 2016
Getting better, fire in Bushick pic.twitter.com/gDMTcs9a8l
— Diego Lopez (@lowpezdiego) March 30, 2016
Heros of the bushwick Fire pic.twitter.com/5cCeo4vlmj
— Diego Lopez (@lowpezdiego) March 30, 2016
Fire in bushwick pic.twitter.com/niuAaWbhiq
— Diego Lopez (@lowpezdiego) March 30, 2016
Yikes #Bushwick #fire pic.twitter.com/FjxGNyo9eF
— Alexandra Rosen (@alexandrakrosen) March 30, 2016
Holy crap half block away from my apartment!!! #newyork #fire
A photo posted by Kevin Osmond (@osmondphoto) on Mar 29, 2016 at 7:26pm PDT
The wind is not helping. pic.twitter.com/F3O2GhRoLn
— NYPD 83rd Precinct (@NYPD83Pct) March 30, 2016
Mt @rodrigocampos #FDNY #paramedics tend to a silver haired woman who spoke in Spanish. #bushwickfire pic.twitter.com/YTmoY7HdAL
— NYC EMS Website (@NYCEMSwebsite) March 30, 2016
#Bushwick fire leaves the streets filled with smoke two blocks down pic.twitter.com/qUp2xjkrdy
— Claire Hipkens (@chickenswithaP) March 30, 2016
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