Six adults died in a Brooklyn house fire after the inside staircase gave way and left people trapped upstairs, officials said.
Story Highlights
- Six adults died: four at the scene and two later at a hospital.
- Nine others were hurt: four residents, three firefighters and two police officers.
- The main staircase partly collapsed, and people were trapped on the upper floor, officials said.
- Lithium-ion batteries were found inside; fire marshals have not named a cause.
- Mayor Mamdani said it is “too early” to name the cause. A week earlier, a fire officials blamed on a lithium-ion battery killed a mother and her three children in the Bronx.
Deadly Overnight Blaze in Sunset Park
The fire broke out at about 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 5, at a home on 58th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Six adults died. Four were pronounced dead at the scene, and two died after they were rushed to a hospital. At an 8 a.m. briefing, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said nine other people were hurt. That count includes four residents, three firefighters and two police officers. The firefighters and officers had minor injuries.
The stairs are at the heart of this loss. Officials said the main staircase inside the home partly collapsed, and people were trapped on the upper floor with no easy way down. The names of the dead have not been released.
Staircase Collapse Trapped Residents
Kevin Woods, the fire department’s chief of operations, said the main staircase partly gave way during the fire. With the stairs gone, crews could not simply climb to the second floor. They set up a portable ladder inside the home to get between the first and second floors and keep searching.
Firefighters also made rescues on the ground floor. Two people were trapped behind bars on the rear windows of the first floor. Crews got in through a back entrance and pulled them out alive. A neighbor said he never saw anyone come out of the main house. He watched paramedics carry people out and give them CPR, which is chest pressing to restart a heart, on the street.
Cause Under Investigation; Batteries Found On Site
Officials have not said what started the fire. Lithium-ion batteries were found inside the home. These are the rechargeable batteries used in e-bikes, scooters and phones. A hazardous materials team, which handles dangerous substances, was called in because of them. Fire marshals, the department’s fire investigators, are looking at the batteries as one possible cause.
Mayor Mamdani said it is “too early” to name the exact cause. The fire department said such batteries are not unusual in homes. Batteries draw close attention in New York City for a reason. About one week before, a fire at the Patterson Houses in the Bronx killed a mother and her three children. Officials said that fire was sparked by a lithium-ion battery.
Why the Fire Spread So Fast
Woods said the fire moved quickly because of the way the homes were built. They are “row frame” houses. That means a tight row of homes framed in wood and covered with vinyl siding. Crews arrived in a little over three minutes and found heavy fire coming from every window.
The blaze became a three-alarm fire, which means three waves of extra crews were called. About 231 fire and medical workers responded. They knocked down the main body of the fire shortly before 2:40 a.m. The flames spread into the house next door. City building officials ordered everyone out of a third damaged home. Eight neighbors had to leave their homes, and the Red Cross helped move them into hotels.
Sources:
fox5ny.com, cbsnews.com, brooklyn.news12.com