Gil Torres and his wife have lived in their Midwood home for 42 years and now have to move after a fire at their neighbor's house caused damage to their own.
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"It's a disaster bc the firemen had a to go in and poke holes in the ceiling," Torres said.
Heavy flames shot from the second floor of the home next door on East 9th Street just after 4:15 a.m and woke up neighbors nearby.
"When I saw the flames, too much flames," said Anwari Rajput who lives down the street. "I was shocked."
It took some 138 firefighters to battle the blaze. FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph Duggan said firefighters battled heavy fire on both floors of the house.
"This morning we received a call at 4:09 for a report of a fire at 739 East 9th Street in Brooklyn," FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph Duggan said. "Our units responded in approximately four minutes. On arrival, we were confronted with heavy fire on the first and second floors of a two-story private dwelling."
Torres saw the fire shooting out of the home and even worse heard his neighbor inside.
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"He's yelling back, I can't get out I can't get out," Torres said.
Fire officials say that a 67-year-old man was trapped in the basement of the home.
"The victim was maybe fifteen, fifteen feet inside the door and he was he was unconscious, entangled in a chair," said FDNY Captain Kiesling.
That man was pulled out in cardiac arrest as fire crews dealt with falling debris, the second-floor collapse trapping firefighters.
"We had a localized collapse of the second floor into the first floor," Duggan said. "Maydays were given for building collapse, or a structural collapse, as well as members trapped.
Other firefighters rescued their own as a fire built inside the home filled with a lot of clutter. And Torres is thankful they got it under control even though it's left a lot of work behind.
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"We have insurance but the red cross is going to put us up for a few nights in a hotel," Torres said.
Torres' neighbor was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and regained consciousness on the way to the hospital. He's currently in stable condition.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation but is not considered suspicious at this time.
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