Early morning fire in Homecrest displaces families; 1 person hospitalized
According to officials, the fire broke out at an apartment building on Ocean Avenue between Avenue R and Avenue S.
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An early morning fire on Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn sent one person to the hospital and left several families without a home. The fire broke out in the basement of a six-story apartment building between Avenue R and Avenue S just after 4 a.m., according to the FDNY.
Firefighters battled thick smoke as they worked to extinguish the flames. Video captured by a neighbor on the Citizen App shows crews on ladders accessing the building while residents gathered on the sidewalk.
The FDNY says it took 25 units and more than 100 firefighters and EMTs about an hour and a half to bring the fire under control. However, their efforts were complicated by illegally parked cars blocking fire hydrants near the scene.
One resident, Alina Palacios, described the terrifying ordeal.
"At 3:45 in the morning, my dog woke me up, and then all my living room was filled with smoke," Palacios said. "The apartment is not good because they moved everything. They broke all the windows."
The Palacios family is one of six that the Red Cross is assisting with temporary housing.
The FDNY confirms that one person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.
