The NYPD is currently searching for a suspect in an arson at Rash Bar on Willoughby Avenue in Brooklyn.
FDNY officials say the fire started when someone wearing a dark hoodie and a backpack came inside the bar around 9:20 p.m. Monday and poured flammable liquid on the ground before throwing a match on top, causing the bar to go up in flames.
Citizen App video shows the scene as firefighters extended their ladders to try put out the flames.
The bar owners thanked their bartender on Instagram for helping people to escape the fire. While everyone was able to make it out of the fire, police say two people were hurt during the fire.
In a statement posted to
Instagram, the owners said in part, "We still don't know what to make of this cruel act of violence. In only five short months, we were privileged to become home to such a talented and vital community of artists. It breaks our hearts that anyone would seek to threaten that for any reason."
People living above the bar told News 12 their apartments will be inspected for smoke damage this week. Rash Bar is currently closed, and it is unknown when it will reopen.