Brooklyn fire kills 6 people, injures 9 others in Sunset Park, officials said

Six people were killed and nine others were injured after a fire ripped through a two-story home in Sunset Park early Thursday morning, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.

Fire department officials said they received calls about the blaze around 1:40 a.m., and found an intense fire burning on multiple floors of the home on 58th Street and 7th Avenue in Brooklyn. It took more than 200 first responders and almost three hours to bring it under control.

Four people were pronounced dead at the scene, while two more people died after they were taken to a local hospital with critical injuries, according to the FDNY and NYPD. Both agencies said they did not immediately have identifying information for any of the victims.

Five first responders were injured, the mayor said. Four other civilians were also hospitalized — one with serious but non-life threatening injuries, and the others with minor injuries, officials said.

Officials said a lithium-ion battery was found at the scene, but it’s too early to tell whether it caused the fire.

Fire marshals on Thursday morning were looking closely at what appeared to be a charred, stand-up scooter that firefighters brought outside the house, along with debris that firefighters were shoveling through the home’s blown-out windows.

"The presence of lithium-ion batteries at the scene is a serious concern, and more must be done to encourage and mandate safe storage practices," City Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a statement. "Enough is enough.”

In August of last year the city's buildings department received a complaint of illegal apartment conversions in the basement and first and second floors of the house, according to city records. Inspectors attempted to visit the location four times but were not able to gain entry, according to a spokesperson for the buildings department.

The spokesperson added the buildings department was on the scene investigating the fire.

Luis Ramos, 54, who said he lived across the street from the fire, said the house looked like “a bonfire that was out of control” where flames were “coming out of everywhere,” including the roof, windows and door.

“Whoever was in there, they didn’t even have time to get out,” he said, adding that he witnessed a body that was black and charred. “There wasn’t a spot in that building that didn’t have a flame coming out.”

Ramos said he felt for the family who lived there, especially with Thanksgiving coming in a few weeks. “Instead of, you know, of happiness, they gotta bury their family members.”

Mamdani, who spoke at the scene of the fire on Thursday morning, said helping people recover from this fire will take time and resources.

"Because we know that fires are not only devastating in the moment, but also they displace New Yorkers from their home,” he said. “And they require help and support not just from their community, but from the city at large."

Mamdani said the Red Cross has moved all the displaced people into hotels.

Jimmy Juoguo, a neighbor, said the fire was very scary.

“It’s so sad because even we [didn’t] know each other, but it’s six people, it’s too much,” he said.

The incident comes less than a week after four members of a family , including 11-year-old Zion Maine, died when a lithium ion battery caught fire in the Bronx.

Charles Lane contributed reporting. This is a developing story and has been updated with new information.

Fire marshals on Thursday morning were looking closely at what appeared to be a charred, stand-up scooter that firefighters brought outside the house, along with debris that firefighters were shoveling through the home’s blown-out windows.

"The presence of lithium-ion batteries at the scene is a serious concern, and more must be done to encourage and mandate safe storage practices," City Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a statement. "Enough is enough.”

The city's building department received a complaint of illegal apartment conversions last year in the basement and first and second floors of the house, according to city records. Inspectors attempted to visit the location three times, but it’s unclear what came of the citations.

A spokesperson for the building's department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Luis Ramos, 54, who said he lived across the street from the fire, said the house looked like “a bonfire that was out of control” where flames were “coming out of everywhere,” including the roof, windows and door.

“Whoever was in there, they didn’t even have time to get out,” he said, adding that he witnessed a body that was black and charred. “There wasn’t a spot in that building that didn’t have a flame coming out.”

Ramos said he felt for the family who lived there, especially with Thanksgiving coming in a few weeks. “Instead of, you know, of happiness, they gotta bury their family members.”

Mamdani, who spoke at the scene of the fire on Thursday morning, said helping people recover from this fire will take time and resources.

"Because we know that fires are not only devastating in the moment, but also they displace New Yorkers from their home,” he said. “And they require help and support not just from their community, but from the city at large."

Mamdani said the Red Cross has moved all the displaced people into hotels.

Jimmy Juoguo, a neighbor, said the fire was very scary.

“It’s so sad because even we [didn’t] know each other, but it’s six people, it’s too much,” he said.

The incident comes less than a week after four family members , including 11-year-old Zion Maine, died when a lithium ion battery caught fire in the Bronx.

Charles Lane contributed reporting.

This is a developing story and has been updated with new information.