A 49-year-old man lost his life and three other people were injured after a fire broke out Monday afternoon on the top floor of a Brooklyn apartment building.
Witnesses report hearing around 2 p.m. a loud explosion that reportedly shook the building while some people were working on the sixth floor. Besieged by flames, two of them were forced to climb down from the sixth-floor windows of the structure located at 165 Rockaway Parkway in Brownsville. Both were rushed to the hospital after firefighters arrived.
“They took it into their own hands and yeah, would’ve been better probably too if they did not do that, but they did that and they got out,” FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Carney said of the two victims.
About 60 firefighters and emergency responders were on the scene within minutes, Carney said. The FDNY officer added that the fire has been listed as “suspicious” and that an investigation is currently underway.
At around 2:05pm #FDNY members responded to an all-hands fire at 165 Rockaway Pkwy, Bkn. Firefighters found 2 occupants from the top floor who had jumped out of the building. EMS quickly transported them to area hospitals. Fire was contained. 4 injuries total, 3 are serious. pic.twitter.com/bTpbSr844A
— FDNY (@FDNY) August 14, 2023
