A blog about Kensington, Brooklyn.
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Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
A two-alarm fire broke out at about noon yesterday in the basement of 430 East 8th Street. The electrical fire, which required Con Edison to shut off power for a period of time, was under control in just over an hour, but some residents have had to find another place to stay. A partial vacate order was put in place because of extensive smoke and water damage, but thankfully there are no reports of any injuries.
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Friday, January 21st, 2011
A ConEd transformer blew up Wednesday night on Avenue C, rocketing manhole covers 30 feet up into the air, after which a 45-minute pyrotechnic display attracted onlookers and FDNY response teams. ‘I thought something was wrong because the lights were flickering on and off all morning long,’ reported local resident Roger Kaufman as he returned home at 9 PM only to find his block taped off by NYPD.
At around 8 PM the primary explosion reverberated throughout the neighborhood like a cannon. Immediately thereafter the two manhole covers which had been shot into the air returned to earth, sounding like snow plows as teach bounced off Avenue C between E. 2nd and E. 3rd Streets. Orange flames then erupted from the manholes, their tips transforming into billowing black smoke. Secondary explosions beneath the ground then forced out the orange flames, replacing them with showering of blue-white sparks. Reverberated throughout the duct system beneath Avenue C, the explosions sounded as if emanated by a gargantuan, underground trumpet.
As this scene unfolded on the street, lights in adjacent apartment buildings and private homes could be seen flickering through their respective window. Once completely out, the occupants in these structures came out into the street where they watched, along with ConEd and FDNY personnel, the transformer burn itself out. Around 11 PM, emergency crews from ConEd arrived and busied themselves in the attempt to restore power to the block. These efforts continued throughout the night, and it is reported that power was not restored until 6 AM. By late yesterday afternoon the recovery effort continued with ConEd crews still working to replace feeder cables and transformers wrecked by the previous night’s havoc. It is rumored that salt used during the recent Brooklyn blizzard precipitated the underground electrical explosion.
This sounds to me like the third time a manhole cover has exploded – a few weeks back a car was burned out on Caton?
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Thursday, December 9th, 2010
Daily News reports that everyone is doing well after the scary 3 alarm fire yesterday on E7th Street:
Mohammad Qasim, 14, and his brother, Humza, 9, scurried onto the roof of the burning three-story home. Then they dropped down to a second- floor landing, their uncle said.
From there, “they jumped to a neighbor’s roof and were able to escape,” said the uncle, Malik Qasim.
The boys’ father, Mohammad Qasim, 36, and his wife, Fozia, were still trapped in the attic – but firefighters arrived at the E. 7th St. home just in time and used a ladder to rescue the couple.
“They are very grateful,” Malik Qasim said.
The boys were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
A heroic Brooklyn man tossed three kids out a third-floor window this morning after a fire ripped through his home, averting a tragedy that could have taken the lives of the 13 people living inside, fire officials said. Mohammed Qasim, 46, a father of three who lived in the home with his sister and her six kids, said he awoke to the screams of children.
“I woke up because of the screaming,” he said. “I don’t know what caused the fire, but I called 911. I had to throw my kids out the from the attic top window.”
“They didn’t want to jump,” said Qasim, who works in a nearby grocery store and has been living in the home for 10 years. “I wanted to save my children’s lives. I lost everything, but thank God everyone is OK.”
Video from Flatbush Scoop
Monday, November 29th, 2010
Firefighters were brought in yesterday starting around 10:30 in the morning to investigate the abandoned house on Hinckley Place, on the spot of the proposed school ground, a neighbor reports.
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Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Neighbors report that investigation underway in the early morning fire behind Bergament: “They believe (rightly so) there were homeless guys living in a blue van on parking lot at 36th st, right across street from the back of Bergaments. Firetrucks called around 2 a.m. Van was torched. One injures in hosp. one unidentified man dead.”
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Councilmember Brad Lander joined Matthew Eugene, who represents the other side of Coney Island Avenue in a rally last week to protest the closure of the Cortelyou road firehouse, which serves folks on this side of CIA too. Here is the footage of part of the rally, courtesy of YWN:
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