Six-Alarm Inferno Injures 22 FDNY Firefighters
By Kerry Burke and John Annese
Source New York Daily News
A raging six-alarm inferno ripped through a Brooklyn apartment building Wednesday, collapsing the roof and bellowing smoke plumes so thick they were visible from Staten Island.
The blaze broke out on the top floor of a six-story brick apartment building on 44th St. at Seventh Ave. in Sunset Park at about 4:45 p.m.
Adults and children scrambled down fire escapes as the flames gutted the building’s top two floors, as winds gusted to more than 40 mph.
“Due to the conditions, the wind conditions, they were eventually driven off the top floor. Eventually, we pulled out all our firefighters for safety reason," FDNY Chief of Department John Sudnik said. Firefighters had to use tower ladders to fight the blaze from outside.
“The roof is collapsed. The entire roof is collapsed onto the top floor. The building is severely damaged due to smoke fire and water. It’s uninhabitable at this time.”
Four civilians and 22 firefighters have suffered non life-threatening injuries, FDNY officials said. Seven of those firefighters suffered burns, Sudnik said.
“The hallway was full of smoke, and the firefighters just told us to get back in our apartment. We had to go out through the fire escape,” said Javier Zuniga, 9. "The top floor and the fifth floor were all fire.... “I was freaked out. I was crying. It was crazy.”
The youngster was home with his babysitter and other family members in his fourth-floor apartment when a neighbor’s smoke detector started blaring, he said. They all got out, but his two cats, Scratch and Neo, are missing.
“I don’t know where they are,” Javier said.
Javier’s father, Cesar Zuniga, came rushing home from his job as research director for an early childhood program in Mineola.
“It’s horrible. It’s really beyond words,” Zuniga, 46, said. "Belongings and stuff are just things. I’m just glad my family and kids got out.”
The fire was still burning late Wednesday night. Its cause remains under investigation.
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