An early-morning blaze tore through a Gravesend apartment building leaving ten injured, including three residents in critical conditions and six firefighters in need of minor treatment.
The fire began around 2:45 a.m. in the top floor of a six-story apartment building on Colby Street. It was contained to one apartment, occupied by two senior citizens. The residents are among those critically injured and being treated for smoke inhalation.
Several ladder companies raced to the scene, taking more than 45 minutes to battle the blaze. Residents of the building scrambled to evacuate, using the windows of first-floor apartments to exit to the courtyard. At least one man on a lower-level was reported to be in cardiac arrest.
The injured were taken to Lutheran Medical Center and Coney Island Hospital for treatment. No word on their condition.
ORIGINAL STORY: We’ve heard that a fire erupted at the Brighton Beach Islamic Center at 230 Neptune Avenue (at Brighton 8th Street) around 8:30 a.m. We are heading out to the scene to find out more. Look to our Twitter feed for the latest updates.
This is where the fire was
UPDATE (11:21 a.m.): Sometimes it’s nice to feel like an idiot. Today is one of those days.
I received a voicemail regarding the supposed fire at the Islamic Center of Brighton Beach from a reader who said she heard from her friend that the center “might have been blown up. But whatever it is, it’s on fire and all the windows have been blown out.” I confirmed that there was indeed a fire at that address on Gothamist Maps, posted the info I had, and ran out to see how bad the damage was.
Thankfully, it was minimal, and the damage was not to the Islamic Center but to the attached restaurant. New Shama Restaurant’s (very friendly) owner told us it was a minor incident. They had noticed some smoke coming from their stove’s ventilation shaft (to the right in the photo above), and called the FDNY. It was quickly put out. The religious center was not involved at all and did not suffer any damage.
I like not having to write bad news, so I celebrated by picking up a tamale verde from a street vendor. It was delicious.
We’ve received reports of a fire at Coney Island Hospital (Avenue Z and Ocean Parkway). Several trucks and ambulances are on the scene and smoke is visible from across the street. We’re looking for more information. Please contact us if you know anything!
Emergency services, including firefighters and police emergency response units, flooded Nostrand Avenue between Avenue T and Avenue U today at 12:45 p.m. According to Gothamist Newsmap, they’re responding to a “Barricaded EDP” (emotionally disturbed person) call at 3302 Nostrand Avenue. Meanwhile other units were opening and testing every fire hydrant on the block.
We’ll update this story as more information becomes available. If you know anything, please e-mail us.
The early-morning fire that ate through a Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza restaurant may have been arson, FDNY officials said this week.
An FDNY spokesman said that fire marshals are treating the fire at XO Creperie, 2027 Emmons Avenue, as “suspicious” as they try to determine how the blaze was sparked.
Firefighters were called to the restaurant at 5:30 a.m. on November 21 after the flames triggered a fire alarm inside the restaurant, officials said. The blaze was put out within 50 minutes.
No one was inside the eatery when the fire broke out, although a firefighter suffered a strained shoulder as he doused the blaze.
Following the weekend’s fire at XO Creperie, Loehmann’s in Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza has announced they will be closed throughout the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Signs at the store previously said they’d open today, but these mailers went out to “Loehmann’s E-mail Insider” subscribers, leading one Sheepshead Bites reader to write in, “ugh this bums me out. they were having a sale. 50% off already reduced!”
Bummer. The store will stay closed until further notice. The ground-level businesses remain open.
UPDATE: We’ve heard that management is telling people that they’re rushing the cleanup to try and reopen in time for Black Friday. It’s still uncertain.
Reader Lisanne Anderson spoke to one of the workers who was involved in the cleaning operation at XO Creperie in Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza after yesterday’s fire, who said that he didn’t believe that that there was much damage to the restaurant. Much of the damage was caused by putting out the fire, which included breaking the windows. Apparently the fire occurred when no one, including workers, was in the restaurant at approximately 5:30 a.m., rather than 6:20 a.m. as we reported earlier. He acknowledged that investigators were there yesterday, but doesn’t believe that they’re sure yet of the origin of the fire. Loehmann’s will be closed through Monday for cleanup, as there is still water residue and a pervasive smell of smoke on the second and third floors. The businesses on the ground floor, such as the Seaport Buffet, are open today.
We just got word from a tipster that XO Creperie, located in Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza (2027 Emmons Avenue), has burned down. The second-floor restaurant has been in the building for several years and is one of the oldest, continuously-operated businesses in the plaza. The tipster says crime scene investigators were at the building earlier today, and that Loehmann’s was closed due to the fire. Based on the blurb from Gothamist Maps, it appears the fire occurred around 6:20 a.m. today. We’ll let you know as we find out more.
Some morons committed a federal crime today when they set a mailbox on fire at Stillwell Avenue and Avenue T. Firefighters were on scene as early as 10:35 a.m. (this photo was taken at 10:40 a.m.) doing their best to put out the flames while preserving the mail, but the damage was done and much of the mailbox’s contents were ashes in the chill morning breeze. One frustrated witness watched over the scene praying his mail was intact. Hopefully, postal authorities will investigate the matter and bring the jackass who did this to burning justice! If you know anyone that lives in the area and may use this mailbox it might be a good idea to let them know their mail might not reach its destination.
One early morning not so long ago when we would normally expect school children to be settling into their first class, an entire school of them were instead calmly but determinedly walking the streets.
Normally, for a school fire drill, P.S. 254 students line up in the schoolyard and on the sidewalks around the school. Since the schoolyard is under construction, we figured that the children had to wait somewhere else for the drill to be over.
Supervisors and teachers, were holding manuals, binders, instructions, and signs while directing traffic and leading the children all the way to Ocean Avenue from the school at 1801 Avenue Y. They were concentrating so intently on getting the children away from the school that none of them heard me as I tried to ask about what was going on. Adding to the seriousness of this drill were a number of police cars parked at the major intersections.
Later, a conversation with one of the school crossing guards revealed that this sober march was actually nothing out of the ordinary. Since the September 11 tragedy, the Department of Education has instituted a special evacuation drill. The evacuation drill differs from a fire drill in that students are escorted to another school in the area, instead of waiting at the building’s perimeter.
The evacuation drill is similar to regular fire drills in that the students are given no warning and are not given any time to get their coats or bags, thus allowing for the speediest exit. This particular fall morning was chilly, but the sun and the brisk walk seemed to keep the kids from shivering.
Next time you’re driving down Ocean Avenue and find streets closed with children and their teachers moving hurriedly with police escorts — don’t worry — it’s just children being well-prepared for emergencies.
