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3 People Suffer Minor Injuries in Building Collapse in Brooklyn, FDNY Says

By  Ben Fractenberg and Camille Bautista | July 14, 2015 3:23pm | Updated on July 14, 2015 3:42pm

 The roof of 1438 Fulton Street in Brooklyn caved in Tuesday afternoon.
The roof of 1438 Fulton Street in Brooklyn caved in Tuesday afternoon.
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DNAinfo/Camille Bautista

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — At least three people suffered minor injuries after a building collapsed on Fulton Street Tuesday afternoon, according to the FDNY and witnesses.

The roof of 1438 Fulton St. near Tompkins Avenue appeared to have caved in a little before 2:30 p.m., according to fire officials and witnesses. The building was unoccupied and there was no construction work being done to the structure at the time of the collapse, fire officials said. 

"I saw the entire thing collapse. There were some people standing outside the building and all of a sudden it started to waver and the sides started to fall, and people ran away," said Kristina Uriegas-Reyes, who was walking a block away. 

 A building on Fulton Street near Tompkins Avenue collapsed Tuesday afternoon, injuring three people, July 14, 2015. 
Fulton Street Building Collapse
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"The dirt and smoke came all the way [up Tompkins Avenue]. I had to get napkins from the deli guy, I was covered."

The injured people were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, officials said.

It was not immediately clear how many people were injured or if they were in the building or on the street when the roof caved in.

A complaint was made against the building on Sunday for damage to a construction fence and a brick column being in danger of collapsing, according to the Department of Buildings website

There was also a complaint from 2011 about bricks falling from the building's facade.

The Department of Buildings is investigating and inspectors will be on the scene for the next 48 to 72 hours, FDNY Brooklyn Borough Commander Wayne Cartwright said. 

The next-door building, which contains a walk-in clinic and apartments does not appear to have been damaged, Cartwright added. 

A trains were running with delays in both directions and C trains were bypassing Kingston-Throop Avenues because of the collapse, according to the MTA

Another witness said the collapse sounded like a blast. 

"It was crazy, I thought it was a bomb that went off," said Sage Brown.