Showing posts with label fire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fire. Show all posts

Monday, April 21, 2014

VIDEO : Fire in Jackson Heights, Queens on 37th Avenue

PUBLISHED : MON, 21 APR 2014, 10:05 PM
UPDATED : TUES, 22 APR 2014, 10:33 AM

VIDEO : A five-alarm fire broke out late Monday afternoon in a large office building at 74-09 37th Avenue, between 74th and 75th Streets in Jackson Heights, Queens. The fire began at about 5:30 p.m., said one witness, who works at the pizza shop across the street from the burning building. There were three minor injuries, NY1 reported.

Jackson Heights residents coming home from work were blocked as they walked up several streets from the major transit hub at Roosevelt Avenue, about one block away from the fire.

At one point and out of caution, firefighters burst through the fourth floor windows of the building next door using the high-pressurized hose water to stop the blaze from spreading.

It took about six hours for firefighters to put out the fire. Witnesses saw three ladder companies hosing down the fire. A fourth ladder company was on the scene, but it was not actively engaged in fighting the fire. It's not known if that fourth ladder company, had it been hosing down the fire, could have extinguished the blaze sooner. Several firefighter engines were on the scene in the blocks around the burning building. The top two floors of the building could be seen as having been destroyed the the fire.

The billowing smoke from the burning building covered several apartment buildings downwind from the fire, blanketing an entire area from 74th Street and 37th Avenue to 76th Street and Northern Blvd., and perhaps beyond.

Medical offices are located in the first floor of the burning building, along with an Italian restaurant. In the upper floors, a small college, Plaza Business Institute, shares space with several businesses, NBC4 New York reported. It is estimated that the whole building is now considered destroyed, effectively putting an end to hundreds of jobs that people had with the businesses, the business college, and law and medical offices in the building.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Fire on 78th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens

There was a fire this morning in an apartment building on 78th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens. Several fire trucks and ambulances arrived on the scene. It appeared that two ladies were brought out and given oxygen. One was seen being put into an ambulance. The other must have already been taken away. Standing outside along the sidewalk, some residents appeared as if they had just grabbed a coat to put on over their pajamas.

One of the fire trucks deployed a giant ladder that made loud noises as it was secured to the edge of the building's roof. Apartment dwellers across the way from the building could hear the loud sounds made by the ladder company and by rescue sirens. Once rescue was completed, fire officials arrived in SUV's to assess the damage. Once the building was deemed safe, the building's residents were let back in. One resident speculated that it may have been a space heater that started the fire.

If it turns out that that building isn't providing enough heat to its residents, I hope that complaint gets registered with the FDNY.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Intentional Fire Set To Occupy Sandy Hub In Brooklyn

A two-alarm fire that started around 4:30 a.m. outside the Church of St. Luke And St. Matthew at 515 Clinton Avenue appears to have been deliberately set, NY1 reported. Occupy Sandy volunteers and members of the congregation were worried about hurricane relief supplies and Christmas gifts for New Yorkers affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Since Hurricane Sandy made landfall, thousands of volunteers, included members of the Occupy Sandy movement, have used the Church of St. Luke And St. Matthew as an important hub for hurricane relief efforts.

Here's a look at some of the compelling and heroic volunteer efforts of Occupy Sandy activists, which at times has been the only direct assistance available to hurricane survivors :

Rev. Christopher Ballard told The Wall Street Journal that two gas canisters, which had been being stored outside the church, might have been used to start the fire. The Rev. Ballard said he was told by police that it "appeared someone had taken gas and poured it on the entrance and all along the facade and lit it on fire."

"By Sunday afternoon, the fire at St. Luke And St. Matthew remained under investigation and a $1,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest," NY1 reported.

The suspicious fire at the church came just hours after it was revealed that the FBI was spying on the Occupy Wall Street movement. Redacted FBI information showed that there were reports, which the FBI kept confidential, that there were plans to use snipers to assassinate leaders of Occupy Houston. Because the Occupy movement continues to push for social, legal, and economic reforms, activists involved with Occupy obviously remain the target of harm.

Monday, October 29, 2012

East Village Explosion Hurricane Sandy

A transformer possibly exploded in the East Village of Manhattan during the landfall of Hurricane Sandy.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Fire at South Street Seaport

Fire breaks out at South Street Seaport ; FDNY put out the blaze. No casualties reported, according to The New York Post. * Fire officials say a heavy blaze at New York City's crowded South Street Seaport shopping spot has been put out without any injuries. Battalion Chief John Sarrocco said flames enveloped a 100-foot stretch of Pier 17, which was teeming with several hundred people when the fire broke out about 4 p.m. Saturday. (NY Post) * Fire Causes Smoke and Panic at the South Street Seaport (NYT)