A raging fire left a path of destruction in a Brooklyn neighborhood overnight and injured a handful of people sleeping when the flames engulfed their home in the middle of the night.
Fire officials said at least seven people sustained minor injuries, mostly from smoke inhalation, after their Williamsburg building went up in flames around 4 a.m. on Kingsland Avenue. The fire wasn't just contained to the one building -- flames extended to the right and left of the two-story, multi-family home.
More than 130 firefighters and EMS personnel rushed to the 4-alarm fire as tenants waking up to thick black smoke scrambled to make it out in time. Two firefighters were hurt while battling the flames.
"One of my neighbors, she escaped to the roof, and I think she got the worst smoke inhalation," resident Sherry Wasserman said. "I was in bed and then I heard my neighbor screaming 'fire! fire!'"
Videos that captured the fire's intensity showed flames shooting out of the building's windows. Early morning drivers posted to social media that they could see the fire and thick smoke from the BQE.
Other people living in the neighborhood were advised to close their windows to keep the smoke at bay. Surveillance video captured the first plume of smoke escape the home in the middle of the night. After about two minutes, someone came out the door and tried to flag down a driver, but the car kept going.
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Two more minutes passed by before the fire reached the home on the left. Embers could be seen in the surveillance video falling from the night sky, hitting parked cars — all while families were still not yet seen evacuating.
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A minute later, neighbors across the street spotted the flames and dialed 911. Those neighbors then crossed the street to get people out. Nearly 10 minutes after the first plumes of smoke was spotted, fire crews arrived at the scene.
One man from Poland, in town visiting his family, lost his passport and other important documents in the fire. Tenants like Wasserman lost everything in the fire.
"I lost all of my belongings. I don't have renter's insurance, which I know is one me," she said.
The Red Cross is said to be helping at least seven people in need of housing assistance.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but investigators believe it was sparked on the first floor of the structure.
