Brooklyn residents awoke to a nightmarish scene early this morning as flames engulfed a row of houses in East New York, resulting in two injured individuals. According to AMNY, the fire started around 2:30 a.m. at 181 Miller Ave., a vacant building that later partially collapsed due to the severity of the fire, which spread rapidly to neighboring addresses, 183 and 187 Miller Ave.
Firefighters faced the dual obstacles of combating the blaze and the frigid temperatures that clawed at their efforts to quickly bring the situation under control. Approximately 138 firefighters from 33 units were deployed, working in the punishing cold to extinguish the flames. "I heard arguing and screaming coming from the middle building on fire," said one resident, in a statement obtained by AMNY, referencing the mostly vacant structure that has been known to house squatters.
The inferno necessitated that FDNY personnel remove window bars from the second floor to gain access inside and effectively fight the main body of the fire. A task complicated further by the need to safeguard adjacent dwellings from the spreading conflagration. This information was confirmed by reports from ABC7NY, which also mentioned a similar incident occurring nearby on Miller Street in what neighbors described as a long-vacant home.
Two residents were reported injured in the incident and were quickly transported to Brookdale University Hospital by EMS. One of the victims was seriously hurt, while the other was in stable condition. By around 5:07 a.m., firefighters managed to fully bring the fire under control, following a strenuous early morning battling not just the fire but also the cold. The cause of the fire is now under investigation by FDNY marshals, as per officials cited by both ABC7NY and AMNY.
