Crime & Safety

Fire Ignites on First Floor of Brownstone Behind P.S.5

Neighbors allege the fire is the work of an angry lover; firefighters are still investigating

Three tenants were forced to evacuate a three-story brownstone at 784 Halsey Street and Ralph Avenue, after a fire ignited on the first floor of the building on Monday afternoon.

Fourteen fire units and approximately 75 firefighters were called to the scene, directly behind The Dr. Ronald E. McNair School, P.S. 5. at approximately 2:20 p.m. The fire quickly engulfed the first floor of the brownstone and was spreading to the second floor, at around the same time children were starting to leave school.

Firefighters extinguished the flames by 2:50 pm, while crossing guards and school administrators did their best to direct children and traffic as far away as possible from the smoke and the flames. EMS workers reported there were no injuries.

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“I came down the block and saw the smoke billowing out the windows," said April, a 27-year-old neighborhood resident.

"I saw the fire department knock a hole through the window, and as they did that, this huge fireball came out the window and all these people in the building besides it were sticking their heads out the window looking at it, and then shutting their windows.”

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One of the building’s tenants, Jerome said he ran out of the front door as soon as he smelled the smoke.

“[The fire] came right through the wall. I smelled the smoke, got up, and when I opened the door, the whole place was filled with smoke,” he said exasperated.

Jerome said, originally, he thought the cause of the fire was electrical. But later, heard that a tenant’s girlfriend had deliberately set fire to a mattress. “When the firemen broke in to put water on it, at first it blazed up more. I’m just happy I got out.”

According to fire officials, the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.


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