Center building at 338 Atlantic Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps
Adjacent owner demanded that next-door neighbor remove fire escape that overhung the adjacent owner’s property. Clover M. Barrett owned a five-story mixed-use building, constructed in 1902, located at 338 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Barrett’s property had a fire escape dating from the original 1902 construction that hung three feet and five inches over a neighbor’s property located at 319-325 Pacific Street. The fire escape gave Barrett’s second through fifth floor tenants and building occupants the ability to escape or seek refuge on Pacific Street in the event of a fire. The neighboring property was originally a parking lot, but had recently been developed into townhouses. On October 15, 2014, the neighbor wrote Barrett a letter demanding that Barrett remove the fire escape. (more…)
NYC Fire Truck. Credit: CityLaw.
Tenant left on a food warmer which ignited a fire in the apartment where firefighter was injured. Firefighter John Walsh suffered a debilitating shoulder injury when putting out a fire in Miriam Michelson’s high rise apartment. Michelson observed the Sabbath and used a warming tray to prepare and heat food. Michelson left the warming tray on while away from her apartment. The warming tray was plugged into a timer which was plugged into a wall. Because of faulty wiring the warming tray overheated which burned the wire’s insulation and ignited nearby combustible material. The fire quickly spread from the kitchen to the rest of the apartment and up to the sixth floor, blowing out windows and causing an air conditioner to fall down into the courtyard, prompting a neighbor to call 911. (more…)
9 East 36th Street. Image credit: CityLaw.
Tenant sued landlord over fire in his rent-stabilized apartment that had allegedly originated from inadequate wiring. James Daly, the tenant of a rent-stabilized studio apartment located at 9 East 36th Street in Manhattan, suffered injuries from a fire that occurred on June 19, 2013. The apartment, built in the 1930s, was 700 square feet consisting of a living area, a gallery kitchen, three closets, a bathroom, and a hall connecting the gallery kitchen to the bathroom. There were a total of seven electrical outlets in the apartment; three in the living area, two in the gallery kitchen, one in the hall, and one in the bathroom. (more…)
Williamsburg warehouse burned to the ground just minutes after FDNY left the scene. A Williamsburg warehouse owned by Recall Corporation and located on the Brooklyn waterfront at 5 North 11th Street burned to the ground in the early hours of the morning on January 31, 2015. The New York City Fire Department had responded to a fire alarm at approximately 4:36 a.m. and found a fire ablaze on storage shelves inside the warehouse. The FDNY, believing that the fire had been controlled by the warehouse’s sprinkler system, turned off the main water valve to stop the deluge and prevent flooding. The FDNY deemed the warehouse safe for reentry and left the scene. Just minutes after the FDNY left, a second fire appeared, triggering another fire alarm at the warehouse at 6:32 a.m. With no water available to supply the sprinkler system, the fire quickly spread, destroying the warehouse and its contents. The warehouse contained government records from entities including the State court system, the City’s Administration for Children’s Services, and the Health and Hospitals Corporation. (more…)
Licensed plumber violated numerous rules when completing plumbing work. William Harvey held a master plumber license and a master fire suppression license. The Following an investigation the Department of Buildings moved to revoke Harvey’s master plumber and his fire suppression piping contractor licenses. (more…)
