Williamsburg Warehouse Fire Could Smolder for Weeks

Sunday, February 1, 2015 8:35 pm | 2 Minute Read

Firefighters work to douse a massive warehouse fire in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The fire as seen from the Williamsburg Bridge. (AP Photo/Mark Glickman)

Smoke rises behind the New York City skyline, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, seen from Jersey City, N.J. Firefighters battled a multi-alarm blaze inside a Brooklyn storage facility that was fed by the paper inside. No injuries were immediately reported. More than 200 firefighters responded to the blaze after it was reported at 6:28 a.m., only two hours after firefighters had gone to the same four-story building to put out a small fire on a shelving unit. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A seven-alarm fire that destroyed a warehouse housing millions of government records and forced an evacuation in one of New York City’s trendiest neighborhoods could take weeks to extinguish completely, fire officials said on Sunday.

Some 270 firefighters have been sent to battle the blaze, which broke out early on Saturday, charring a four-story storage facility in Williamsburg. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“The building is a total loss,” said James Leonard, chief of department for the Fire Department of New York. “We’re putting in a tremendous amount of water and yet it’s still burning.”

The city’s health department issued a warning late on Saturday, asking residents of the neighborhood, which is lined with bars and restaurants, to stay indoors with their windows closed to avoid smoke-related injuries.

Billowing smoke formed a gray cloud above Brooklyn and the blackened carcass of the warehouse, which specializes in storing paper office records, took up the length of an entire block. Firefighters fought the flames in frigid temperatures overnight, with icicles hanging down from their helmets.

This article appeared in print on page 1 of the February 2nd, 2015 edition of Hamodia.