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COURIER LIFE, FEBRUARY 11-17, 2022 11
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 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.
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.
Inspectors who visited
the building last
month found that the site
was closed and in compliance
with the agency’s
orders.
The cause of Monday’s
fi re remains under
investigation, according
to the FDNY.
Additional reporting
by Meaghan McGoldrick
1-800-469-6292 (TTY 711)
H2168_MKT22-09_M
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