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Last night, a two-alarm fire broke out at a site at N. 9th and Wythe Avenue in Brooklyn, apparently at the Rosenwach Wood Tank Company. Smoke could be seen from not only neighboring buildings but from the East Village as well. The fire was reported at around 9 p.m. and under control by 10:15 p.m. We've contacted the FDNY for details on what might have caused the fire.
Reader mihow pointed out, "Imagine how hard it would have been for the fire trucks to get to the building had the fireworks been on our side as they usually are? Usually there are people everywhere. Nuts." And after the jump, video from reader Steve:
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Fire was easily visible from FDR Drive & E14th Street. I don't have any info on the cause, but there were lots of (amateur) fireworks being launched in that area prior to the incident.
Fire wasn't in a building -- it was on the site of the Rosenwach Wood Tank company. It is an open lot with a small wood mill on one corner, which caught fire (there's a lot of sawdust around it). Since there was a lot of wood on the lot, it's easy to see why the fire was so big. They're in the business of manufacturing & installing (among other things) the wooden tanks you see on top of buildings everywhere which (ironically?) feed building sprinkler systems.
Thanks, BQE.
True, but the lot also had a roof, which burned down quite easily. For a good "before" photo check out Google Maps Street View for the location: http://bit.ly/mD9a6
There were some small structures there - an office and a workshop, I think - but as BQE says, it was mostly stacks of wood. A lot of the other structures were open sheds for wood storage, as I recall. The structure at the southwest corner of the site was still standing at 10:15 last night - an hour into the fire. Neighbors say they saw people shooting off Roman candles. More here.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was touched off by fireworks. I wouldn't even be surprised if some imbecile threw the firecrackers onto the wood or sawdust intentionally. Maybe having people everywhere would have been a good thing. People are less likely to shoot off their own fireworks when there are crowds and presumably NYPD crowd control around.
I agree. It was insanity on my block. People shooting off fireworks from the roof at people walking on the side walk. No police whatsoever.
Seemed about normal to me, at least on the Southside. Crowds were much lighter obviously (though you still had decent views from the river), but there were still close to the usual amount of fireworks being shot.
I saw that big cloud of smoke from S. 11th and was wondering what it was! No one with me seemed concerned...
I happened to be across the street from the get-go. Got some pretty decent shots, via my blackberry storm. Here's my photobucket check them out
Damn. Rosenwach's water tanks rock. I hope they quickly recover.
Kudos to our great FDNY. However, that fire would have been extinguished even faster had Williamsburg not CLOSED ITS ONLY FIRE STATION in the area, which was located just a few doors away on the very next block on Wyeth!! What a sad irony. Politicians/community leaders: this underscores the need to restore the fire house -- especially with W'burg's condo explosion.
I biked past the site this morning and it looked like the lumber yard of the water tower factory was badly damaged in one corner. Hopefully all can be restored/company has good fire insurance. They are not just iconic but of great value to our city.
When I checked it out this morning I was surprised how little it was damaged after witnessing those huge flames last night (I have photos too). It seems it was really just very large stacks of wood that caught fire (possibly from sawdust). Think your chimney times a million. There were some people in the actual building to the east of the blaze site. That building seemed ok. From what I've been reading it seems that their main factory is in Long Island City, with just their yard and small shop here.
Maybe someone wants to build a condo there? Someone might have been getting itchy because there was a square foot or two of Williamsburg that wasn't being gentrified.
Sad part is is that your prob right..condo or lofts lol..urban gentrification (aka fvck your neighborhood up) spreads faster then any fire ever could in williamsburg.
I walked past there today and there's a burnt out new BMW with NJ plates on it. It's sitting right in front of the place, it looks like they put the car out half way through, it's pretty crazy looking.
I actually live in the building right across the street (where the flames were blowing). I was really impressed at how quickly the fire department showed up. Most people in our building were evacuated and we were able to go back inside once the flames died down. It smelled like a campfire in the hallways, but our building was fine overall. Crazy experience, though. The Rosenwach guys are back at work and seem to be in good spirits.