A 2-alarm fire ripped through a mixed-use building in Bushwick on Wednesday afternoon, injuring a firefighter and forcing several tenants out of their homes as thick black smoke poured over Myrtle Avenue.
The blaze erupted around 12:45 p.m. at 1086 Myrtle Ave., between Lewis Avenue and Broadway, according to the FDNY. Roughly 140 first responders were called to the scene, and it took crews about 90 minutes to bring the flames under control, News 12 Brooklyn reported. One firefighter was hurt and taken to a hospital. Officials said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The ground floor of the building houses the Tabernacle of Praise Church of God in Christ. Upstairs, residents described the second-floor setup as small, “college-like” rooms packed with tenants who were jolted awake by the chaos.
Tenants said the first warning came in the form of a loud boom. One resident then ran through the hallway, banging on doors and yelling about the fire. “We heard a boom and then someone knocked on our door and shouted ‘fire,’” tenant Peter Vandunk told News 12 Brooklyn.
Residents said they tried to knock the flames down with a fire extinguisher, but the fire spread too fast. They reported that smoke alarms went off, but that the building’s sprinkler system did not activate.
What crews found and next steps
An FDNY source at the scene told reporters that crews discovered propane tanks on a roof patio. Officials said those tanks did not appear to be where the fire started, according to News 12 Brooklyn.
The Department of Buildings responded to inspect the structure, and the American Red Cross arrived to help the displaced households with emergency assistance. As of Wednesday evening, officials had not released a final count of how many people were forced from their homes, and investigators were still working to determine the fire’s exact origin and cause.
