Mayor Bill De Blasio Tours Site Of Massive Williamsburg Warehouse Fire
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio has toured the remnants of a Brooklyn warehouse that was engulfed by a massive fire.
The fire at the Williamsburg warehouse ignited Saturday. It was still smoldering in spots Thursday morning when de Blasio visited.
Mayor Bill De Blasio Tours Site Of Massive Williamsburg Warehouse Fire
De Blasio toured the site and thanked firefighters for their work, which was complicated by freezing temperatures. Some water used to battle the blaze froze, leaving several cars and fire hydrants encased by ice.
"I hope you guys know there's a very deep kind of appreciation for the work that you do," de Blasio told the firefighters. "I don't know if people stop you enough to thank you but every one of us feels it."
The firefighters have been rotating in and out every three hours due to the brutal cold.
"When you see a situation like this, what you guys have to deal with and the strength it takes, the courage, the professionalism, I just want to thank you because this is truly the few, the proud and the brave," de Blasio said.
The firefighters in their turnout coats and helmets maintained their reputation as taciturn, simply smiling a bit at the mayor's praise, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
As CBS2's Ilana Gold reported, neighbors are upset with the city because they say they weren't warned soon enough of possible health risks.
"When I woke up my throat was really aching," Emily Gallagher said.
It was still pungent days later. The Citi-Storage building housed thousands of paper documents stacked from floor to ceiling.
"I live a mile-and-a-half away and I smell it every single morning," Peter Hoare said.
Neighbors say the NYC Health Department warned them about the smoke dangers entirely too late. An online alert shows the city issued a notification just after 10 p.m. Saturday night, 15 hours after the fact, telling people to limit their time outdoors.
"This is absolutely wrong and it's a failure of our government," Gallagher said.
Neighbors are so upset that they started a petition demanding answers from the Health Department. So far nearly 400 people have signed it. They want to know why they weren't warned earlier.
"Who knows what damage it could cause later on, and what's in the air and lingering," one resident said.
The Health Department said there was not an immediate risk to residents.
"There is no immediate health risk to the residents. We decided to issue an advisory with precautionary advice when it became clear the fire was unusually large, and that the smoke would be extensive," the department said in a statement.
For people in Brooklyn the explanation wasn't enough.
"I want there to be an emergency plan in place before this happens," Gallagher said.
No one died in the seven-alarm fire. The cause remains under investigation.
The building housed paper records for several city agencies, including the Health Department and the Health and Hospitals Corporation.
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