DNAinfo – January 06, 2015
by Camille Bautista
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — At least 10 people were left homeless after a fire started in a Bed-Stuy building Monday morning. The fire at 34 Rochester Avenue, near Atlantic Avenue and Herkimer Street, broke out around 8 a.m, according to fire officials.
It gutted the second and third floors, though all residents were able to escape unharmed, neighbors said.
“I went to the corner store to get coffee and when I came back I saw these huge flames coming from the building,” according to a neighbor, who declined to give his name.
“I wanted to make sure everyone was accounted for and I tried to get to the door but there was too much smoke,” he said. “It’s just a sad, sad thing on the new year.”
The cause of the incident is under investigation, an FDNY spokesman said.
A partial vacate order is issued for the home, as well as two adjacent buildings, according to Steve Vassi, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management.
The American Red Cross will provide assistance for seven residents, as well as for another three next-door neighbors forced to leave the premises as a result of the fire, Vassi added.
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