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COURIER LIFE, F 12 EBRUARY 11-17, 2022
Vacant
Bed-Stuy building
caves in after
three-alarm blaze
Firefi ghters work to put out a fi re at 394 Gates Ave. in Bedford
Stuyvesant Monday morning. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
BY LLOYD MITCHELL
More than 130 fi refi
ghters spent Monday
morning battling
a three-alarm blaze in
Bedford-Stuyvesant,
which resulted in the
collapse of a vacant
building near the corner
of Gates and Nostrand
avenues.
FDNY personnel
rushed to the scene at
394 Gates Ave. just before
6 am on Feb. 7,
where they found heavy
fl ames and plumes of
smoke billowing from
the four-story building,
which had been under
construction and vacant
for some time.
Shortly after smoke
eaters made their entry,
part of the building
caved in, according
to a Fire Department
spokesperson.
While no civilians
were initially reported
injured, EMS workers
rushed one fi refi ghter to
Wyckoff Medical Center
with injuries. That fi refi
ghter’s condition was
unknown as of publication.
On Tuesday, fi re offi
cials confi rmed that a
body was, in fact, pulled
from the rubble as
cleanup operations continued.
The individual’s
cause of death remains
under investigation by
the city Medical Examiner’s
Offi ce.
Those fi ghting the
fi re operated three
tower ladders and two
hose lines from the outside
of the wrecked
building, citing safety
concerns. Sources on
the scene told Brooklyn
Paper the response
would be “an extended
operation.”
After more than four
grueling hours, the
FDNY fi nally placed the
blaze under control at
around 10:30 am. A total
of 33 units and 138 fi refi
ghters responded to
the enferno.
Property records say
the building, which contains
three apartments
and is next door to a bodega,
fi rst went up in
1931. Owners were hit
with a Stop Work Order
from the city’s Department
of Buildings in
June 2021, according to
an agency rep, after the
site’s general contractor
submitted a request to
withdraw from the project.
Call to enroll or make an in-person appointment
1-800-469-6292 (TTY 711)
H2168_MKT22-09_M
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