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Officials: Electric Wiring Sparked Brooklyn Blaze

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Aug 2, 2008 1:35 pm US/Eastern

Officials: Electric Wiring Sparked Brooklyn Blaze

250 Firefighters Needed At The Scene, 23 Injured

Reporting
Magee Hickey
BROOKLYN (CBS) ― The FDNY blames electrical wiring for a massive 6-alarm fire in Brooklyn which displaced dozens of families and destroyed the top floor of their apartment building in Flatbush.

Authorities called in 250 firefighters who needed hours to bring the 6-alarm fire under control.

The blaze began just before 6 p.m. Friday in the cockloft, the space between the building's roof and the ceiling of the top floor

The fire ripped through five apartments on the top floor of an 84-unit apartment building on Lincoln Road, threatening to destroy the entire roof.

"In the early moments, we were trying to contain the fire to one side of the building and what they saw from the helicopters was firefighters up on the roof cutting holes to relieve the smoke," said Joseph Pfeifer, Deputy Assistant Chief with the FDNY.

The fire spread to the entire sixth floor of the apartment building in an hour, spewing smoke throughout the neighborhood. Two hours later, it was brought under control.

"It's really hard to lose everything you had," said resident Audrey Sinclair.

Although 23 firefighters and two civilians had suffered injuries in the fire, none were considered life-threatening.

"At least we're all alive and i don't think anyone got hurt," another resident said.

The Red Cross has found temporary housing for 45 families that were displaced by the fire.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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