Firefighters rescued a man Wednesday morning while battling arctic temperatures, frozen hydrants and low water pressure during a three-alarm fire in Flatbush.
Units from Engine Company 255 and Tower Ladder 15 arrived at 1005 East 38th St., near Avenue I, just after 12:40 a.m. to find heavy fire in the rear of a two-and-a-half-story wood-frame dwelling. The fire had spread to the first and second floors.
While working to extinguish the flames, crews rescued an elderly man who was inside and inhaling heavy smoke. The victim clung to rescuers as he was carried to the front of the building, where paramedics awaited.
The man was rushed to a local hospital in serious but stable condition.
“This fire got out of control quickly,” a neighbor told Brooklyn Paper. “The firefighters are doing the best they can, but this weather is too fierce for fighting a major fire. I will pray for the family impacted.”
Temperatures during the fire hovered around 8 degrees, with firefighters encrusted in ice.
Several frozen hydrants also hampered responders after a brief interior firefight on the dead-end street. All personnel were ordered to evacuate the building after the blaze consumed the attic space, causing a partial roof collapse. Just over 130 members used Tower Ladder 157 and five hose lines from the exterior to knock down the main body of the fire.
The fire was placed under control at 3:42 a.m., at which time the Department of Buildings was called to assess the building’s structural stability.
The FDNY Fire Marshal’s Office will investigate the cause and origin of the blaze.
Kcassman