Fire at Brevoort couldn’t stop holiday party
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Hellen Osgood was on her way
home from running errands
around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec.
10, when the fi rst fi re truck arrived at
her apartment building at 20 E. 9 St.
Soon there would be 11 more units including
EMS standing ready, fi lling East
Ninth Street at the Broadway corner and
at University Place. In all, 60 fi refi ghters
responded to the smoke conditions and
electrical conduit fi re at Brevoort East.
The common areas and stairwells
of the 27-fl oor multiple dwelling went
dark and the elevators were out as acrid
smoke from the burnt conduit fi lled the
ground fl oor and stairwells.
Fire fi ghters packed the lobby as the
sidewalk was blocked with residents
who, smelling smoke, had left their
apartments, or many just returning
home from work and were anxious.
“I called my husband— the electricity
was on in the apartment—and he
said the smoke was not increasing, so I
wasn’t worried,” Osgood said. “Initially,
there was a lot of activity, but it seemed
under control.” She added, “In times like
this, you just have to let those in charge
do their jobs.”
The electrical fi re was contained
within the electric meter room and there
was no need to evacuate. With building
management’s okay, by 7:45 pm, using
the fl ashlight on her cell phone, she
made the trek up 11 fl ights to her apartment.
Con-Ed crews were quickly on site to
restore temporary service. Management
communicates by email and by 9:30
p.m. they wrote: “It goes without saying
that safety is a top priority. Please
remain in your apartments as the staircases
and hallways are dark.”
By 8:30 a.m. the next morning, Management
alerted residents, “Power has
been restored. Currently the freight and
one passenger elevators are up and running.”
It was discovered that the breaker
switch blew out in a panel, which caused
the fi re in the panel.
Osgood describes how incredible the
staff were, keeping everyone calm and
people updated. Bob Miller, site superintendent,
12 units and 60 firefighters responded to the smoke conditions on E. 9th St.
and Max Ramirez, concierge
on duty, helped coordinate efforts with
the FDNY, who went through the building
and knocked on doors, especially
those of the elderly residents.
Saluting FDNY, Ramirez admired
their timely response, welfare checks,
and coordinated efforts to get the fi re
under control.
The following night, Wednesday, as
planned, and with two elevators still
not working, neighbors congregated in
Brevoort East’s expansive lobby for the
annual holiday party.
While eating and drinking, residents
remembered their power outage during
Hurricane Sandy and how the building
was affected. They spoke of how particularly
seniors are affected during these
occurrences.
“The spirit during our holiday party
shows how resilient we are,” Osgood
PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY
says.
Fire Department and Offi ce of Emergency
Management have visited the
building multiple times and have given
an “all clear” on air quality. Additionally,
American Fire Restoration placed air
scrubbers with carbon fi lters on every
fl oor to help alleviate the residual smoke
odors and the electricians continue to
work to restore all areas that were compromised
by the fi re.
EMS were on site for the electrical fire. There were no injuries.
The party must go on! In the building’s lobby, neighbors reminiscent
about Hurricane Sandy.
Schneps Media December 19, 2019 15