Crown Heights Fire Kills Woman And Injures 9, Police Say

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A 79-year-old woman was killed and three people critically hurt in a massive blaze that ripped through a Crown Heights apartment building early Friday morning, officials said.

The three-alarm fire erupted in Fresh Supermarket on Buffalo Avenue and Eastern Parkway at about 6 a.m., police and FDNY officials said.

The fire spread to the homes above the store at about 7:45 a.m., police and the FDNY said.

A 50-year-old man, a 54-year-old woman and another woman were taken to Brookdale and Kings County hospitals in critical condition, police said.

Three firefighters and three civilians were also hurt but are expected to survive their injuries, according to the FDNY.

It took firefighters more than two hours to get the flames under control and the cause is not yet known, police said.

Fire marshals said there was no working smoke alarm found at the scene of the fire.

Firefighters reported that the building was shaking and requested a structural stability inspection from the Department of Buildings, city records show.

Owners of the four-story, 27-apartment building at 291 Buffalo Ave. were charged a $655 fine in July after DOB inspectors found multiple problems with the boiler, according to city records.

Five families were left homeless after the fire ravaged the Buffalo Avenue building and 50 residents have requested aid, according to the Red Cross.

Those displaced by the fire can find housing and health care assistance by calling (877) RED-CROSS.

Photo courtesy of FDNY/Twitter