Law enforcement sources tell News 4 the blaze in Brooklyn that left a man and woman in their 50s dead and nearly a dozen other people injured, including three firefighters, was set intentionally.
Officials say a 22-year-old woman who lives in the building is in custody awaiting charges in connection with the blaze on 11th Avenue in Dyker Heights that devoured a building about 7 a.m. Thursday morning. However, it's not clear why the house was set on fire.
Footage from Chopper 4 showed bright orange flames leaping from what appeared to be a third-floor apartment in the building. The roof had partially caved in and firefighters had to dodge flames as they worked to douse the smoke. Flames also filled the windows of the apartment; the entire home seemed to be engulfed. Thick black smoke spewed from the structure as emergency vehicles crowded the scene.
A girl who escaped the flames with her younger sister, mother and father said her sister woke up as smoke filled the living room. The family tried going out the front door, but the door knob was hot, she said. They have a ground-floor apartment and managed to escape through a back window.
The fire was under control shortly after 9 a.m. The names of the 58-year-old man and 56-year-old woman who died were not immediately released; their bodies were found in the flaming third-floor apartment.
The injured included seven civilians and three firefighters. Some were treated at the scene. A 4-month-old girl, a 3-month-old boy, a 30-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man were taken to a hospital with smoke inhalation.
Officials say there were no working smoke detectors in the home.
