Woman seriously injured after massive fire burns through Brooklyn homes
KENSINGTON, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A woman was seriously injured after a fire burned through two houses in Brooklyn on Friday.
NewsCopter 7 was over the fiery scene at 413 E. Third St. between Beverly Road and Avenue C in Kensington.
FDNY officials say the four-alarm fire broke out at on the first floor of a three-story home at the location around 5:45 p.m.
The fire quickly escalated, engulfing all three floors, including the cellar, and spread to the home next to it at 411 E. Third St.
Eyewitness Annabel Rodriguez was too close for comfort.
"First, it was just smoke, it was dying down," she said. "I was about to leave and then it started flaming from the roof."
Over 30 units and more than 135 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene as crews attempted to get the fire under control.
One woman was removed from the first floor of the home where the fire began. She was taken to Maimonides Medical Center with serious injuries and was to be transported to Cornell's Burn Unit.
Solar panels complicated the operation as the solar panel on the rear of the original location collapsed. Wind also played a factor in the fire spreading as it started blowing the flames and smoke to the east.
"We had high winds and that really contributed to the fast spread of fire and there was a lot of fire on arrival," FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.
The choking smoke practically drew the whole neighborhood out.
"I live about five blocks up that way, I smelled the smoke. I wanted to come down and see what was happening," Joseph Spiegel said.
Two homes were engulfed but the FDNY stopped the fire from spreading to two additional homes.
Firefighters eventually had to be pulled out of the homes due to concerns with structural stability.
The FDNY was using a drone with thermal imaging cameras to identify hot spots.
No firefighters were injured.
The Red Cross was on the scene assisting any families that have been displaced.
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