Sunset Park Fire Evacuated 3 Buildings, Left 120 Without Homes

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — Three buildings in Sunset Park and the backyard of a local church are still fully evacuated after a fire ripped through an apartment building on 44th Street, city officials said Friday.

The more than 50 families of 702 44th Street, along with a few residents from neighboring buildings, are staying with family and friends or have been put up in hotels by the Red Cross after a blaze that lasted a full 24 hours tore through the top floors of their apartment building.

The blaze, which firefighters finally deemed under control around 7 p.m. Thursday, fully collapsed the building's roof and parts of the sixth, fifth and fourth floors, making the building unsafe to reenter, a Department of Buildings spokeswoman said. It also caused evacuation orders for two neighboring houses and the backyard of Christ United Methodist Church on 7th avenue.

More than 120 people were displaced by the evacuations, including 63 adults and 11 children who are using the Red Cross's temporary housing services, a Red Cross spokesman said.

"Many homes have been completely destroyed and the building is likely uninhabitable for the foreseeable future," a GoFundMe set up to help the victims reads. "In the typical Sunset Park spirit of community and generosity that so many people have experienced in our beloved neighborhood, we are coming together to raise funds for our neighbors so they can rebuild and focus on the wellbeing of themselves and their families."

The fundraiser has already brought in $50,000 of its $100,000 goal, which will be distributed between the families evenly, organizers with the Sunset Park 5th Avenue Business District said.

Families need help with everything from finding medication they may have left inside the building, dealing with the loss of their pets or replacing important items like wheelchairs or eyeglasses, Red Cross spokesman Michael Devulpillieres said.

The Red Cross set up a concession during the fire and has had caseworkers, mental health professionals, nurses, translators and volunteers working at it since, he said.

"We respond to fires every day, but this was particularly bad," Devulpillieres said.

The mental health professionals can in part help some of the families with one of the main concerns in the wake of the fire — pets that were left inside, Devulpillieres said.

Some families had said Thursday that they weren't sure whether their cats or dogs had made it through the blaze. Devulpillieres wasn't sure whether those families had since found their pets, but said mental health professionals were helping anyone who was worried about their whereabouts or had lost an animal.

FDNY officials said Friday that they had done searches of the building but because of safety concerns aren't setting up more at this point.

Department of Building officials said all three buildings will need to be evaluated again before the vacate orders can be lifted. A fence will be put around 702 44th Street for safety while a private engineer works to stabilize the building, the spokeswoman said.

Devulpillieres said the recovery effort is unfortunately far from over.

"We’re going to be working with them throughout the weekend," he said. "We've been there since it happened and we'll continue to help out.