[ad_1]
Several vehicles, including Mercedes, were set on fire Monday morning in the parking lot of the Kings Plaza shopping center in Brooklyn, injuring 21 people and sending plumes of thick black smoke into the sky, officials said.
Daniel Nigro, commissioner of the FDNY, said on the spot that a 911 interlocutor reported that a car was on fire on the second floor inside the four-level parking lot of the park's shopping center. marine in the marine park.
According to the authorities, when firefighters responded, they found several vehicles on fire. The fire then spread to the third floor, where other cars were burned.
Nigro said 120 cars were stored in the garage by local car dealerships.
"We do not know how many of them have burned, but many of these cars have been involved in this fire, creating a huge amount of black smoke," said Nigro.
The conditions of the rapid fire worsened and at 9:50, and hell was raised to six alarms. The fire was eventually turned into seven alarms.
More than 250 smoke consumers fought the fire, which mostly went out shortly after 11 o'clock.
"The black smoke, toxic, heat, limited work area of the fire department made it very difficult to extinguish the fire quickly," Nigro said.
The fire injured three civilians and 18 firefighters, officials said. All the victims were in a stable state.
"Our members have different levels of smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, working under these conditions with this amount of smoke and the amount of heat carrying what they carry, we can only Imagine what they have experienced, "Nigro said.
The cause of the fire remains in the study.
Asked about the potential fire, Nigro said, "It's too early to watch it again.
"It is common for car dealerships to store their vehicles somewhere outside of their sales premises. They have been storing vehicles here for a while, "said Nigro.
A mall security officer said the Dodge, Mercedes, Toyota and Nissan dealerships use the garage.
"Most of our cars are there. I hope we have insurance, "said an employee of one of the dealers.
Witnesses reported hearing explosions at the time of the fire.
"I heard, Boom! Boom! Boom! Said Mike Wright, a resident of the area. "The next thing I know is the fire trucks. I look up, there's this huge plume of smoke all over this neighborhood.
Then, "I heard 30, 40, it sounded like cars that explode.
"There was a lot of smoke coming out. Smoke thick and heavy. It looked like car explosions.
Nigro noted that every time there is a car fire, "you risk having tires that explode".
"Most of what they heard were tires that have repeatedly exploded on these vehicles," said the fire marshal. "It's very dangerous for our members and all those who are nearby."
Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the fire.
Kings Plaza, which was closed to the public at the time but had workers inside, has more than 120 stores, including Macy's, JCPenney and Best Buy. There are 4,000 parking spaces in the indoor garage.
Hali Waldropt, 32, who works in the mall's Adidas store, said he was caught in the smoke that was invading the area.
"It was just a cloud of smoke right up to the corner," Waldropt said. "People could not breathe. I was standing right in front of JCPenney, then they started evacuating, and then we all started running.
Earlier this month, an anonymous 911 call launched a bomb threat in the mall's Old Navy store, the police said.
The New York Police Emergency Services Unit (NYPD) responded to the question shortly after 5 pm September 5 and determined that the threat was unfounded, said the cops.
No arrests were made in this incident.
Additional report by Ben Feuerherd
Source link
