A ferocious early morning fire that tore through a Brooklyn brownstone and killed three family members was sparked by a lithium-ion battery, fire marshals determined.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said the fire claimed "three generations of one family who are an integral part" of the Crown Heights community.
The fire tore through the brownstone on Albany Avenue, fully engulfing all floors of the residence before firefighters could get to the scene around 5 a.m. Sunday. Flames could be seen shooting out of several windows, and the fire department said it responded in just three minutes — but the flames were already unbearable.
"There’s no time to get out. They start to smolder and in 20-30 seconds they erupt into flames," said FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
Fire investigators recovered scooters from the ground floor that they believe belonged to one of the people killed in the inferno. The charred remnants of the two e-scooters were seen outside the building afterward.
Albertha West, 81, her 58-year-old son Michael West, and 33-year-old grandson Jamiyl West were discovered on the second and third floors of the brownstone, according to officials. It was not clear whether there were working smoke alarms in the family's home, or if they even would have helped.
News
Once firefighters had the situation under control and all patients had been transported to a hospital or treated at the scene, the total number of people injured stood at 12. Most of those injured suffered from smoke inhalation, while a firefighter also suffered series injuries.
The “very difficult, dangerous fire operation,” necessitated additional firefighting crews and resources. FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito said a 3-alarm response was triggered.
“It’s a very dangerous operation for our firefighters,” the chief said. “While we are trying to extinguish the fire, they’re doing searches on the floor with the heavy fire and above that.”
Kavanagh said Sunday's fire brings the number of people killed in the city by lithium-ion battery fires to 17, out of a total of 93 fire-related deaths overall.
"We owe it to the West family to do everything we can to make sure we do not lose one more New Yorker to these devices," said Kavanagh, warning about lithium ion batteries, especially those that are unregulated. "We are on track to surpass 100 fire deaths this year. That is an extraordinary number not seen in decades."
Inspectors do not know what manufacturer made the batteries that ignited in the fire.
