Fire at 654 St. Marks.

underthehill · November 2009

Wednesday, 18 November 2009 3:07PM

NEW YORK -- Two children and an adult have died after a blaze swept through a six-story building in Brooklyn.

The fire broke out in the top floor of the Crown Heights residence at 654 St. Marks Ave. at Rogers Ave. around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Firefighters had it under control by 1 p.m.

Police say the victims are a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 43-year-old man. They were transported to an area hospital where they later died.

About 75 firefighters responded to the blaze.

The cause is under investigation.

rosweed · November 2009

So horribly sad. I was home sick today and I heard all the sirens and the helicopters that were over the scene. I understand that there is some sort of disagreement between the FDNY and the firefighters union about the response time. The union says it took the crews about four minutes longer than the FDNY says it took them to get there and that may have lost the lives. According to what I saw on Channel 7 news, the 911 operator may have been confused by what the caller said. It would be worth watching the story tonight at 11 or if it's on the WABC-TV site.

xlizellx · November 2009

if that's true that's the 3rd instance of a 911-operator messing up and life being lost.

so sad about this though.

whynot_31 · November 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/nyregion/19fire.html

vanilla · November 2009

the last few times i've had to call 911, it was horrible! i was even put on hold. very sad news about the fire.

tsarina · November 2009

Incredibly tragic news. This happened on my block. The word is that the fire was caused by burning incense. (either the incense fell on the floor and the rug caught fire or something else.) There were numerous complaints in the building as to the amount of incense being burned and the smells from the incense in the hallways.

The Father has many burns on the feet which indicated he tried to extinguish the fire by stamping in out, and getting water from the kitchen to put on the flames (fire occured in the bedroom.) He did not call 911. The first call to 911 was from a teacher in the school on Prospect, and alas she could not give the exact address of the fire. The fire was not visible from St. marks Ave. since it occured on the top floor in back. My neighbor in his backyard did not see any smoke or fire until firefighters broke the windows to enter.

Along with all the other fire safety information, most importantly,:
1. " get everyone out
2. call 911 immediately to give the exact address

forget about saving your possetions. (how the hell do I spell check?)

A good tip I read on my old Carroll gardens block association newsletter is for homeowners to paint the building numbers on the back of the building . This helps neighbors identify the building in case of a fire or break in. Had this been done possibly lives could have been saved.

Does any one have any advice as to where to start to get info to get cash or item donations to the wife/mother of the victims?

Fire at 654 St. Marks.

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