From brooklyneagle.com
Numerous fire engine and ladder trucks from across the city rushed to the scene of an all-hands fire at 121 Henry St. near the corner of Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights at roughly 3:30 pm on Tuesday.
The fire involved the first, second and third floors of the brownstone just north of the Jubilee Gallery on the east side of the street.
Brooklyn Heights resident Beverly Closs arrived at the scene of the fire soon after the first fire trucks.
“I saw an unmarked black car with flashing red lights speeding down Pierrepont Street the wrong way!” she told the Brooklyn Eagle. “It stopped at CVS. I kept walking home and saw the fire trucks and the fire.
Closs took photos of firefighters breaking through the brownstone’s windows and climbing inside as thick smoke poured from the building. She had to move away from the scene after a few minutes because of the smoke, she said.
Fire engines from companies including 279, 219, 1, 202, 249, 210, 205, 9 Chinatown, SAT 1, RAC2, Ladder Company 118 and Ladder Company 1, among others clustered at the corner of Henry and Clark Streets. At least ten ambulances parked outside the Mount Sinai Synagogue on Cadman Plaza West, using the site as a staging area. It was not known at the time of this report if there were injuries.
A firefighter unofficially told this reporter that the most serious damage was on the second and third floor.
A neighbor from a high floor at 101 Clark Street took photos of the roof of the burning brownstone. They showed a heavy concentration of smoke towards the rear of the brownstone, at least initially.
According to StreetEasy.com, 121 Henry St. was built in 1849 and has 4 stories and 10 rental units.
On Wednesday, an FDNY spokesperson told the Brooklyn Eagle that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.