A man is dead and at least four other people have been injured in a raging fire that erupted at a six-story apartment building in Brooklyn on Thursday night, officials say.
About 60 firefighters assisted in battling the blaze, which broke out on Kingston Avenue between Empire Boulevard and Lefferts Avenue in Crown Heights shortly after 10 p.m. Police said once the fire was put out, a 56-year-old man was discovered unresponsive and unconscious with burns all over his body.
The man, identified as Rupert Smith, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the NYPD.
Medics took four others to Kings County Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, an FDNY spokesman said.
One woman said intense smoke filled the building, making her escape more difficult.
“We had to come from the fire escape and make our own way down,” Shatoya Killings said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the blaze, but an investigation is underway.
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Heartbreaking 🙁
Life is so fragile.
Moshiach Now!!