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A massive fire engulfed a Brooklyn Heights building early Friday — briefly trapping and injuring four firefighters inside the building, officials said.
The blaze broke out just after 6 a.m. on the second floor of 132 Montague St., near Henry Street, the FDNY said.
The heavy fire extended to the upper floors of the building, where responding firefighters briefly became trapped, according to FDNY Chief of Fire Operations John Hodgens.
“We had a situation where they became trapped up there. We were quickly able to remove them,” Hodgens told reporters. “One of them was trapped and the other ones worked on the rescue effort.”
“It’s extremely difficult,” the fire chief said of the rescue. “It’s a very emotional and nerve-wracking situation, but we’re trained to do it. We had a special response come in that is trained to do this all the time, and we were able to safely remove everybody.”
Video tweeted by the FDNY shows flames, visible through the windows, engulfing rooms on multiple floors. The second, third, fourth and fifth floors were affected, Hodgens said.
Another clip posted by science journalist Laurie Garrett, taken from a nearby window, shows a thick cloud of smoke billowing in the air.
The NYPD’s Special Operations Bureau also tweeted aerial reconnaissance images, showing a cloud of smoke spreading across the street.
“Serious fire down the street, filling the neighborhood with smoke,” she wrote.
The building includes an eyeglass shop, with apartments on the upper floors.
The blaze reached four alarms — with more than 200 fire and EMS members responding, the FDNY said.
No civilians were hurt, but one occupant of the building was displaced and aided by the American Red Cross, according to Hodgens. The building will be vacated, he said.
The attached buildings were evacuated, but the occupants there will be able to return, he said.
“This is a tough time of year for a fire like this,” Hodgens said. “We have a lot of businesses on the block.”
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