FDNY Firefighters Rescue more than a Dozen from mysterious Williamsburg Fire

Adolf Goebbels
Published on Jan 23, 2023
Firefighters rescued more than a dozen people from a fire Monday in Brooklyn.

One person is still in critical condition at the hospital.

The FDNY said the most difficult part was trying to get 17 people out while the fire was still burning.

It happened at a building on Penn Street and is now under control.

CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis spoke with a witness who said he saw the flames, heard people screaming and tried to help.

"People start breaking the glass from the third floor, fourth floor, from the back to escape from the fire," witness Jonnantan Lopez told CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis.

Lopez works near the building where the fire broke out and rushed right over.

"I saw the fire coming out, at first it was smoke, black smoke from the house, and from there I saw a little kitchen, the door. I kick it, I kick the door and I saw the flames coming out. Immediately, I called 911 to help the people out," he said.

The FDNY said it received a call just before 6:40 a.m. and got to the scene in about three minutes, arriving to a heavy fire in the four-story building.

The fire quickly escalated to a second alarm, with more than 100 firefighters responding, getting the fire under control in about an hour.

"The units stretched multiple hose lines to put the fire out. This was a very arduous process where firefighters had to risk their lives while this active fire was burning and rescue 17 people," said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief John Sarrocco.

The FDNY said one person was rushed to Brooklyn Hospital in critical condition. Three were taken to NYU Hospital with minor injuries. The others were treated on scene by EMS.

The FDNY said it had help from volunteer services.

"One of the patients was critical, was immediately transported to the hospital by hatzolah volunteers. We were lucky in that we were about a half a block away from one of hatzolah's quarters, so we had plenty of help at the onset," FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Fred Villani said.

We're still waiting to learn more from the FDNY on how the patient is doing. The focus on the scene remains figuring out the cause of the fire.

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