Fire marshals in Brooklyn combed through the charred debris Tuesday morning looking for answers after a fatal apartment fire that left a man dead and another critically wounded.
The blaze ignited at about 1:15 a.m. on Dec. 17 at 516 Vermont St. in East New York, in the confines of the 75th Precinct.
The first responding FDNY units arrived on the scene to find heavy fire emanating from the first floor of the three-story mixed-use building.
“There was heavy smoke in the street, you could hardly see the building,” said nearby resident Yvette Rodriguez. “The firefighters did a remarkable job considering the situation.”
Firefighters crawled through heavy smoke and flames inside the structure to reach both victims and pull them out of the burning residence. Heavy clutter inside the building complicated their efforts; firefighters wound up also removing items such as a motorcycle and a propane tank from the structure.
But one of the victims, a man in his 50s, lost consciousness; outside the structure, firefighters worked swiftly to try and save his life.
“They were doing chest compressions on the man,” one eyewitness told amNewYork Metro. “He was covered in soot.”
EMS rushed the man to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Police have not yet released his identity. The other victim was hospitalized in critical condition.
The blaze was brought under control at about 2:28 a.m. Tuesday. The cause remains under investigation.
