BROOKLYN — More than 100 firefighters battled a blaze that erupted inside a Prospect Heights apartment building Wednesday morning, leaving a resident and five firefighters with minor injuries, an FDNY spokesman said.
The fire broke out about 8:40 a.m. on the fourth floor of 781 Washington Ave. near St. Johns Place, about a block from the Brooklyn Museum, FDNY officials said.
When the fire began, residents in the building ran to a firehouse across the street, which immediately responded to the blaze, said Deputy Assistant Chief James Leonard.
“Neighbors started banging on the firehouse door saying...the building was on fire across the street," he said Wednesday morning. "We were on the scene immediately.”
Leonard said some initial confusion caused by heavy smoke and an unusual layout in the building's hallways caused several firefighters to become "disoriented" and lost inside, but they were quickly located.
“The hallway was literally...you could not see the hand in front of your face," he said.
In all, five firefighters and one civilian were treated for minor injuries after the fire, he said. The civilian was treated at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital, the FDNY said. It wasn't clear where the firefighters were treated.
The blaze was brought under control about 10 a.m., according to the FDNY.
The Red Cross responded to the fire and met with residents in at least seven apartments affected by the blaze, a spokesman said.
Fire marshals were trying to determine what caused the fire.
