More than 140 firefighters battle Brighton Beach blaze
Officials say it erupted around 3:45 a.m. on Brighton 5th Walk.
More than 140 firefighters worked to extinguish a blaze at a vacant Brighton Beach building on Saturday morning.
The fire broke out around 3:45 a.m. on Brighton 5th Walk, according to officials.
FDNY says one firefighter was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
It took just over two hours for the fire to be fully contained.
While fire officials say it started in a vacant building, neighbors told News 12 that people were living in an abandoned home and set it on fire.
"Homeless people, they occupied in the backside," said neighbor Fayyaz Rana. "The fire catch on our side and they destroyed in our basement, apartment, everything."
A complaint filed with the department of buildings back in November described 23 Brighton 5th Lane as "A long-vacant building has been illegally occupied by 20, 30 people since Aug. 2025" with "Serious fire hazards" and "Request urgent DOB inspection, vacate order evaluation, and enforcement."
The complaint was closed on Jan. 5 after the New York City Department of Buildings said there was "No access: at time of inspection" and it was the "2nd attempt"
News 12 reached out to the DOB for more information but had not heard back as of Saturday evening.
A cause of the fire was not immediately known.
