A man fell to his death after something went wrong with a rescue ladder as firefighters were trying to pull him out of a burning building in Brooklyn, sparking an investigation.
Neighbors said 53-year-old Ashiq Hussain plunged to his death Monday morning while an FDNY firefighter was working to save him from the flames coming from inside the Sunset Park building.
Cellphone video showed the chaos around 7 a.m., as three people could be seen popping out of two windows on the upper level of the three-story building. Flames could be seen shooting out from the other side.
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WATCH HEREAmong those three roommates waiting to be saved was Hussain. Just when it seemed that he was about to be rescued, the ladder stretched out to get to him retracted. Hussain fell down to the sidewalk in front of a deli on Ninth Avenue and 39th Street.
"Very scary experience, nobody expects it or anything like this," said deli worker Roshad Mohammed. "He was a very respectful person, very kind gentleman."
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SIGN UP Neighbors were left wondering what might have caused the ladder to retract as Hussain was stepping onto it.
"I can’t imagine how it felt for the people that were inside the building at the time," said neighbor Isaías Penti. "Everyone’s human, mistakes are bound to happen...but the firefighters did their best. It wasn’t their fault."
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In a statement to NBC New York, the FDNY said they were "aware of an incident that took place at an all-hands fire in Brooklyn earlier this week. As is standard practice, we began a proactive investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the tragic death of a civilian immediately, inclusive of our fire marshals, fire operations, and our division of safety."
FDNY sources said the ladder that retracted has been taken out of service. As of Thursday, no crew member has been disciplined in relation to this case.
Hussain was supporting family back in Pakistan, as Mohammed said he had three daughters and a son. Now people around the neighborhood are pulling together to help them during this difficult time.
The other two roommates who were rescued from the fire were said to be OK.
