FDNY: Crews battle compactor fire at NYCHA building in Downtown Brooklyn

The FDNY says they received the call about a fire at 177 Sands St. shortly after 7 p.m.

Julia Burns and Roberto Torres

Apr 14, 2025, 12:48 AM

Updated yesterday

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Firefighters brought a compactor fire under control at a multistory NYCHA building in Downtown Brooklyn Sunday night.
The FDNY says they received the call about a fire at 177 Sands St. shortly after 7 p.m.
Officials say 20 units responded along with 78 fire and EMS personnel.
News 12 spoke with residents of that building, like Dalis Ramos, who wasn't in the building at the time, but got a phone call from his family inside.
Video from News 12's Julia Burns of firefighters responding to the fire at a Downtown Brooklyn building
"It's a little nerve wracking having my sister be on the phone with me the past hour. My mother personally heard kids screaming from the floor below us," Ramos said.
EMS on the scene were evaluating 12 people, four children among them, who suffered injuries that were not life-threatening as of Sunday night.
News 12 spoke with FDNY Deputy Chief James Maloney.
"It did escalate. Itstarted in the compactor and then it just started spreading up the compactor chute. So there were some clogs and blockages in there. It just kept going up. There must have been 20 people calling, so we had to check every apartment and make sure everybody was OK," Maloney said.
Crews were able contain the fire shortly before 8:30 p.m.