A ferocious early morning fire that tore through a Brooklyn brownstone and killed three family members was sparked by a lithium-ion battery, fire marshals determined.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said the fire claimed “three generations of one family who are an integral part” of the Crown Heights community.
The fire tore through the brownstone on Albany Avenue, fully engulfing all floors of the residence before firefighters could get to the scene around 5 a.m. Sunday. Flames could be seen shooting out of several windows, and the fire department said it responded in just three minutes — but the flames were already unbearable.
“There’s no time to get out. They start to smolder and in 20-30 seconds they erupt into flames,” said FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens.
Fire investigators recovered scooters from the ground floor that they believe belonged to one of the people killed in the inferno. The charred remnants of the two e-scooters were seen outside the building afterward.
