Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Woman Rescued After Being Trapped in Bed-Stuy Fire, Witnesses Say

By  Natalie Musumeci and Heather Holland | August 28, 2014 9:54am | Updated on August 28, 2014 10:23am

 A fire erupted on the first floor of 846 Hancock St. on Aug. 28, 2014.
846 Hancock St.
View Full Caption

BED-STUY — A woman was rescued from a third-floor window of her Brooklyn apartment after a fire erupted and trapped her early Thursday morning, witnesses said.

The blaze started at about 5:20 a.m. in the three-story walkup at 846 Hancock St., near Howard Avenue, an FDNY spokeswoman said.

Nearly all of the residents were able to get out, but in the smoky confusion, Bernadine Weston, 29, said her twin sister, Bernadette, was left behind in the third-floor apartment the sisters share.

“She was hanging out of the window saying, ‘Help me, I can’t breathe,’” Weston said Thursday morning, with tears in her eyes. “I begged my sister to jump.”

Firefighters used a ladder to rescue the woman from the window, witnesses said. Her family said that she was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters brought the fire under control about 20 minutes after it started, but the building was so heavily damaged that residents were not immediately able to go back inside afterward.

The FDNY said the cause of the fire, which started on the first floor, was under investigation.

Louna Eveillard, 32, who lives on the first floor with her six young children ranging in age from 2 to 10, said she only made it out because Weston and her boyfriend banged on the door.

"I was sleeping with kids and she banged on the door screaming 'fire, fire!'" Eveillard said. "I opened my door and saw the flames. I just told my kids to get out."

A couple of hours after the fire, the Red Cross was on scene handing out blankets and food, and neighbors had given shoes and clothing to the children.

"I'm just thankful were all safe," Eveillard said.