Quantcast

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

11 People Hurt in Williamsburg Apartment Fire, FDNY Says

By  Gwynne Hogan and Aidan Gardiner | November 30, 2015 10:46am 

 A fire broke out in a Williamsburg apartment building, officials said.
A fire broke out in a Williamsburg apartment building, officials said.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Gwynne Hogan

WILLIAMSBURG — Eleven people suffered minor injuries when a fire erupted at a Williamsburg apartment building Monday morning just as tenants were returning from their Thanksgiving vacation, officials and witnesses said.

They were hurt when flames burst out on the second floor of 314 S. Third St., near Keap Street, about 9:35 a.m., FDNY officials said.

"I just saw black smoke from the hallway," said Elliot Pena, 33, who moved into his father's sixth-floor apartment Sunday.

"There was no space to walk down the stairs. The smoke would've killed you," Pena said.

 Tenant Olivia Peebles holds cat Happy Birthday while her other cat, Science Fiction, hides after a fire.
Tenant Olivia Peebles holds cat Happy Birthday while her other cat, Science Fiction, hides after a fire.
View Full Caption
Jane-Claire Quigley

Pena and others escaped the flaming building using the fire escape, he said.

About 106 firefighters brought the fire under control about 20:30 a.m., an FDNY spokesman said.

One civilian suffered serious injuries while another six had minor injuries, FDNY officials said. Four firefighters were also had minor injuries, officials said.

They were treated at area hospital, officials said.

Jane-Claire Quigley, 28, was walking up to the building with her suitcases having just returned from the holiday weekend in California when she saw the fire trucks and immediately thought of her cats "Science Fiction" and "Happy Birthday."

"They were under the bed. They were definitely scared," said Quigley's roommate, Olivia Peebles, 27.

"We're so lucky," she added.