Brooklyn Sunset Park House Fire Kills 6 and Injures 9: Lithium-Ion Battery Found as Cause Remains Under Investigation
A three-alarm fire tore through a two-story row house in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, in New York City, New York, in the early hours of November 5, killing six adults and injuring nine other people, including three firefighters and two police officers. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said the cause remains under investigation; a lithium-ion battery was recovered at the scene, but it was not known whether it was related to the cause of the fire.
The FDNY said the blaze at 653 58th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, was first reported at about 1:39 a.m. The fire spread to every floor of the building, including the cellar, blowing out every window and bursting out of the front door. It was raised to three alarms at 2:10 a.m., and more than 200 first responders were sent to the scene. Crews rescued four people from the building, and the fire was brought under control at about 4:30 a.m.
FDNY Chief of Operations Kevin Woods said four residents were pronounced dead at the scene and two others died after being taken to local hospitals. Four civilians were among the injured, one of them seriously, but all nine injured people were expected to survive. The home was built in 1915, according to city property records.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed the death toll at a morning news conference, said eight residents of nearby buildings displaced by the fire had been rehoused in local hotels, and noted that fires linked to e-bike batteries in New York City have risen to more than 400 this year. Fire marshals were still investigating the origin and cause of the fire, and the names of the victims had not been released.
Sunset Park is home to one of New York City's largest Chinese communities, centered on Eighth Avenue. Officials have not released the identities or ethnic backgrounds of the victims.
(Source: New York City Fire Department)
Source: New York City Fire Department
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约市布鲁克林区日落公园第八大道地铁站（社区资料图）。CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Eighth Avenue station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York (neighborhood file photo). CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
