Sunset Park Fire Still Burning As Occupants Fear For Pets' Lives

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — Residents displaced by a massive Sunset Park apartment building fire that injured nearly three dozen people still don't know if their pets survived the blaze, officials said.

Dozens of people, including local community board chair Cesar Zuniga, spent the night huddled in a Sunset Park school wondering if their cats and dogs survived a six-alarm fire that erupted on the top floor of 702 44th St., just before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters remained at the scene nearly one day later trying to quell the flames as residents gathered inside the Sunset Park Recreation Center and waited for news of their pets and the vital medications they left behind, said the FDNY and City Councilman Carlos Menchaca.

"No one is going into that building," Menchaca said. "Before they walk in they need to make sure that no life is in danger and that has not happened yet."

(Keep up with NYC events and news by subscribing to Sunset Park's Patchto receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The fire, which caused the roof to completely collapse, sent residents from the building's 54 apartments to the Sunset Park School at 4305 Seventh Ave., then the Sunset Park Recreation Center on Wednesday, officials said.

The housing complex includes a large immigrant community that speaks at least three different languages, which means getting information out has been difficult, Menchaca said.

So even though Zuniga, who chairs Community Board 7, was displaced along with his wife and two sons, officials said he was hard at work, trying to help fellow tenants get the care they needed.

"I can't even pretend to begin to imagine what he's going through," said David Estrada, the head of the local Business Improvement District who has set up a GoFundMe for the residents.

Only four residents were hurt in the fire, all with minor injuries, FDNY officials said. Fire officials said that was partly because the people in the apartment where the blaze started shut their door before leaving the building.

The blaze also left 23 firefighters and five police officers with minor injuries. All 32 of those hurt were taken to the local hospital Wednesday night, FDNY officials said.

Brooklyn resident Juan Ortiz, 34, was one of the first people to see the flames burst out of a sixth floor window, he said.

"I've never seen a fire like that...you could feel the heat from down here," said Ortiz. "It was something scary, I'm not going to lie."

“These guys did an excellent job," Ortiz said of the firefighters. "I was here when the fire started and they got here in 3 minutes and they stayed here over night.

"You got to be thankful for these guys — that's why they're the bravest."

Patch reporter Kathleen Culliton contributed to this report.