Families Displaced By Brooklyn Fire That Destroyed 3 Homes
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Firefighters were still on the scene Monday of a massive fire in Brooklyn that destroyed three homes and left several families displaced.
Marina Zepeda came back to her home on Arlington Avenue Monday morning, hoping to sift through what was left of her belongings.
"I was coming cause I was thinking maybe I could save something inside my house, but now when I see it, it's impossible," she told CBS2's Magdalena Doris.
Her apartment is now crushed under the weight of the collapsed roof. Sunday evening, Zepeda and her two grandchildren were inside their home when her ex-husband came rushing in, screaming.
"And cried, 'It's fire, it's fire' and take the two babies and get out and leave everything," Zepeda said.
The fire is believed to have started in a garage behind the homes and quickly spread to three neighboring houses as well as the Presbyterian Church of the Crossroads, destroying parts of the sanctuary and the food pantry.
"That hurts the most because we are servants and we are called to do this," said Raquel Vidal, who is with the church. "It's sad and they need it."
Sunday night, residents cried at the sight of the flames.
Four members of the Ortega family were home when their house started burning.
"But at least everybody's fine. My mother, my grandchildren -- everybody's fine," Miladys Ortega said. "My house, my insurance can pay for that. A life? no."
"The material is nothing, but the people, they got saved," said Adolfo Ortgea. "Everybody got out."
Over 250 firefighters responded to the six-alarm fire spurred by wind and the close proximity of the wooden homes.
"This scenario, the buildings are very tight together," said FDNY Chief James Leonard. "They're all wood framed, very tight together. A large body of fire. Fire extends rapidly in these types of buildings."
Seven firefighters and two civilians were hurt, but everyone is expected to be OK.
One family has been placed in temporary housing by the Red Cross.
The FDNY is still working to determine what sparked the flames.
