Fire Leaves 75 PLG Households Looking for Shelter

A six-alarm fire destroyed a portion of the top floor of an 84-unit apartment building in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens on Friday, leaving 23 firefighters and two civilians injured, and the residents essentially homeless. The fire took two hours and 250 firefighters to extinguish. Between 25 and 35 of the 75 households in the building were temporarily sheltered at a school this weekend, then in hotel rooms provided by the Red Cross, while others stayed with family and friends. City officials were reluctant to estimate when they could return &mdash a portion of the roof was removed to extinguish the blaze, and the electrical system that likely caused the fire is "a complete mess" and may need to be entirely replace. "They're doing some work to shore up the roof, but there's some trouble with the electrical system in the building ... that's what's keeping the building vacated," said the official, who asked not to be named. But a resident and friend told us she was advised to look for new housing. She said in retrospect she should have known there were problems with the electrical system because the lights would dim or flicker when she turned on her air conditioner, and electrical bills over the past few months have been erratic. But she never suspected it could be this serious. Although an investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, it originated in the space between the ceiling of the top floor and the roof and is believed to be wiring-related.

In addition to worrying about finding new housing, residents, many without renters insurance, are worried about their belongings and the expense of building new lives. Firefighters had to bash in apartment doors to check for victims and flames, and another resident said she saw someone on the fire escape next to her window the following day. Police are guarding the building, which is very large and has multiple entry points. Residents were only given 15 minutes to be escorted into their apartments so they could gather their most valuable possessions. Some were lucky enough to get in the evening of the fire by saying they had pets or medication inside. Those who had to sleep at the school or in hotel rooms had to leave their pets with friends. As the Red Cross's contract generally only lasts a few days, the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development will be responsible for providing shelter to anyone who is unable to find it independently.
Officials: Electric Wiring Sparked Brooklyn Blaze [WCBS]

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Comments

I'm surprised that the lease doesn't require one to get renters insurance. It's unfortunate that these tenants lost their belongings; however, this is 2008 and I'm not being insensitive, but this is a given. It's not that expensive. As a landlord (2 commercial and 2 residental units), I require proof that it has been taken out. I hope readers of this look at their own situation and those without insurance take it out.

Posted by: Iknow at August 4, 2008 10:24 AM

The good news is the building was undoubtedly rent stabilized. Now, the place can be gutted and turned into condos or co-ops.

Condemnation cancels rent stabilized leases!

Posted by: Polemicist at August 4, 2008 10:32 AM

How can you insist someone have insurance on their personal belongings? It's their issue to deal with, and if they don't they are S*&T out of luck in case of a situation like this.
How would it affect you as a landlord?
Of course if the fire was the problem of the landlord not dealing with possibly dangerous issues - they could sue. Is that your thinking 'Hey, if they have their own insurance they won't come after me when I screw up?"

Posted by: Flatbushrising at August 4, 2008 10:44 AM

What a disgusting response Polemicist! Have you no shame?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at August 4, 2008 12:13 PM

Flatbushrising, I did that on the advise of my lawyer. And yes I can insist. My places are all up to code, but the buildings are 1865-1910 and things can happen. The building next to me burned to the ground (a kitchen fire from a tenant); however, I sealed up all the windows on that side and it was safe. If my place did catch fire I would have gotten lucky financially; however, my tenant would have lost his personal and business possessions without compensation. No, I'm not a slumlord like so many NYC and other large city landlords. NYC tenants (and I used to live there) have protection far and above most, if not all, other cities. Places are trashed, rents go unpaid and it takes forever to evict someone and many renters don't really care about a property they don't own. If they have insurance and something happens (fire, flood, whatever), you can bet they will be thanking you for a long time. How many of the renters on this blog carry renters insurance? How many of you think the landlord will repay you for damage due to fire or a tree falling on in a storm? I'm curious.

Posted by: Iknow at August 4, 2008 1:14 PM

No, Bob. Polemicist has never had an ounce of shame. Too bad for us.

Posted by: Nokilissa at August 4, 2008 1:29 PM

I am a renter and have always had renter's insurance sufficient to replace all of my belongings and relocate, should the worst happen. In 18 years of living and renting in the city, I have never needed it. This spring, my apartment building caught on fire because a tenant was illegally bar-be-queing on his terrace. Our apartment sustained significant water damage as a result. While my renter's insurance did cover the damage to my personal property, it did not cover damage to the apartment itself, which included significant water damage that the landlord did not properly remediate, resulting in mold growth, which he refuses to acknowledge or repair. Essentially, he waited for everything to "dry out" and then threw a coat of paint over it. We had to call the city several times to get him to do even that. So in short, renter's insurance is very helpful, but not a cure all by any means. Landlords are still accountable for the conditions of their buildings.

Posted by: I_haz_TWO_toilets at August 4, 2008 1:31 PM

Of course the renter who started the fire due to illegal behavior probably paid nothing or a piddley fine. As for the landlord, that's unfortunate he didn't remedy the problem sooner. Maybe he was hoping people would move out so he could then fix it up in order to raise the rents. My guess is he got the insurance money, so I doubt that was a factor (but you never know).

Posted by: Iknow at August 4, 2008 3:45 PM

It's been extremely trying to say the least. I have a small child and I am genuinely worried about the mold growth affecting her. We plan to move once our lease is up. What pains me most is that we are really excellent tenants -- financially responsible, nesters, handy, not quick to complain, friendly -- and we've been treated like we're worthless and stupid by this craven landlord. It's been a very upsetting experience.

Posted by: I_haz_TWO_toilets at August 4, 2008 4:05 PM

What pains me is that a thread about how an old and faulty electrical system ignited what became a 6-alarm fire in an 84- unit apartment building, and which took 250 firefighters hours to conquer, causing injury in the process to 23 of same, and has now left somewhere between one third to one half of the households in the building temporarily homeless -- that thread -- has become a discussion about rental insurance. Of course maybe I am only having this reaction because we're talking about real people, with real lives in a real building in my own neighborhood. If that's the case, then it's also a very sad comment on what day and time it is in America.

Posted by: Brooklynista at August 4, 2008 4:46 PM

Digression is the norm for threads and it's not so far off the topic. The purpose of my thread was to inform. Did you expect people to open up their own homes to help the unfortunate people who need a place to stay? Also, think about how many older buildings and brownstones have outdated electric wires running through the plaster walls. I doubt people are going to start tearing down their walls to fix the potential problem. One question wasn't asked was about smoke detectors. How early was the warning? Perhaps it was in the news article.

Posted by: Iknow at August 4, 2008 5:28 PM

Iknow, I think you're being a tad too sensitive. I was not directing my remarks to anyone in particular. Instead, I was only noting that ALL of the remarks so far had been about insurance. (I refuse to dignify Polemicist's troll-like remarks beyond saying that I know he intends them, as usual, to be incendiary.) I guess I was just hoping we would all think about/show a bit more compassion for the couple of hundred people (including firefighters) who have been affected by this tragedy. Now keeping it real -- I definitely don't have a housing solution to offer to anyone who has been rendered homeless by this fire. But, FWIW, I do hope and pray that the victims of this fire don't suffer too long and that the electrical system of this building, and countless others around the City, gets repaired and updated.

Posted by: Brooklynista at August 4, 2008 6:03 PM

Meanwhile, over on the Lefferts Yahoo List (members only, because of a deluge of spam), PLG residents are starting to organize a community-based relief effort.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at August 4, 2008 8:01 PM

This could happen to any of us who live in older buildings with wooden floor and roof framing. It is a nightmare. My heart goes out to the people who are suffering through this.
You will get through it, and you will have a home again, even if it takes time.
for the rest of us, count our blessings, have a "go-bag" at the ready with important documents and cash, and have insurance.
The best comfort at times like this is family and friends, keep in good graces with both.

Posted by: sam at August 4, 2008 8:11 PM

I am heartened by the response of PLG'ers to the plight of these people. The best in us comes out in the worst of times. I'm going to check over on that blog to see what I can do.

As for Polemicist, you got a HUGE load of bad karma coming your way. I hope you have insurance. Ever hear of the saying "God don't like ugly?" Even if you were kidding, it isn't funny.

Most people know nothing about renter's insurance. It is not well advertised, certainly not on tv, where most people get their information nowadays. The insurance industry, which certainly likes to take your money, really hasn't pushed this at all, probably because they would have to pay out more than they would like, and their profit margin would suffer. I can't fault the people in this building not knowing about it, or having it. It is still a very tragic situation, one that can happen to anyone, anywhere. Maybe not because of faulty wiring, but due to any number of causes.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at August 4, 2008 8:37 PM

Iknow, I'm happy to at least be able to say that a lot of people I know, myself included, did offer their homes the displaced, and some other friends who had no room at least offered to watch pets while the owners stayed at the housing provided by the Red Cross. One friend had five people staying at his place. But it's unfortunate because the general sense is that it will be a long time before the building's electrical system is safe enough for people to move back in, and I mentioned in my post that my friend was advised to look for new housing. The landlord had really let the electrical system fall into disrepair.

People are upset because everybody really likes this neighborhood, but there's limited housing and prices have gone up recently. A lot of people really put a lot of money into making their apartments nice, had a lot of valuables and family heirlooms, etc. and they are also looking at having to entirely rebuild their lives, which will be a hardship. I will get more information on the relief effort and post something on it for those who want to help.

Posted by: sarah ryley at August 4, 2008 9:42 PM

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August 4, 2008

Fire Leaves 75 PLG Households Looking for Shelter

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