4 people hurt, 10 families displaced after fire rips through buildings in Williamsburg
WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Four people, including three firefighters, were hurt after flames ripped through a building in Brooklyn late Saturday.
The fire started at a building on Graham Avenue between Metropolitan Avenue and Devoe Street around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday and spread to adjacent structures.
Video shows firefighters on the scene as flames engulfed and heavy smoke billowed from the top floor of the building.
According to the FDNY, about 200 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the four-alarm fire. Officials say the fire was controlled shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The injured firefighters were transported to area hospitals for treatment. Another person was treated on the scene.
FDNY Fire Chief Kevin Woods says about 10 families were displaced. The Red Cross is assisting at least three adults.
Woods described the battle the Bravest faced.
"The two buildings to the left, these are also three-story buildings and we identify them also as row-frame buildings," Woods said. "They're made entirely of wood and the fire traveled heavily in that common cockloft involving all three buildings and directly through the walls."
The fire chief says fortunately there were no frozen hydrants when crews were battling the flames, as temperatures were above freezing.
Meanwhile, witnesses described what they saw on the ground.
"It was kind of chaotic, the firefighters were coming from over here and a bunch of people were just recording," one woman said.
On the first floor of the building, a business awning reads "City Chemist," which is reportedly a chain beauty and pharmacy store.
"I came over here -- I know the owner, I know the people that work there," said Milton Ruperto, a local business owner. "It's really hard to see, as another business owner, another place from the local neighborhood to be in that situation. My heart goes out to all of them."
Authorities are trying to determine what caused the fire.
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