Eleven injured in apartment blaze near reservoir

Story updated on Jan. 15.

A two-alarm fire at 3971 Gouverneur Ave. on Jan. 9 injured 11 people and left 18 total individuals homeless, according to authorities.

Most of the injuries came from smoke inhalation after a blaze started due to unknown causes, said Deputy Chief Jay Jonas of FDNY Division 7. He described two of the injuries as “serious,” three as “moderate” and six others as less serious. Victims were taken to hospitals including Jacobi Medical Center.

He added that about 100 firefighters from Engine 81/Ladder 46 and Engine 52/Ladder 52 came to the scene, with members of the former engine the first to arrive — four minutes after receiving the call.

“We had numerous reports of people trapped,” Deputy Chief Jonas said. “Fire fighters did a determined search, and they found everybody.”

He said fire marshals came to investigate the cause of the blaze, which started on the third floor of the six-story building, but he could not share any preliminary clues.

“There was a lot of fire, so it’s difficult for us to determine [the cause],” he said. “That’s why we brought the fire marshals.”

An American Red Cross communications officer said four apartments were destroyed and five others were vacated. Michael de Vulpillieres added that his organization provided temporary housing for one to three nights for seven of the nine families affected, with the other two presumably finding accommodations on their own.

First responders and their vehicles teeming around the intersection of Gouverneur and Sedgwick avenues — adjacent to Jerome Park Reservoir — began to leave the scene about two hours after initially arriving.

Theodore and Shirley Oakes, residents of  3971 Gouverneur Ave., walked across the street into AmPark Neighborhood School to warm up after the blaze.

Ms. Oakes, 51, said she was talking on the phone and watching T.V. when she noticed firefighters in the hallway. She then woke her husband, 55, out of bed in their one-bedroom, first-floor apartment.

He said he quickly observed water coming from fire firefighters’ hoses.

“I wasn’t scared,” Mr. Oakes said while holding a kennel containing his pet cat last Friday night. “I was just worried that the ceiling’s going to come down. Water was coming from everywhere [through] the ceiling.”

The Oakes said an official had told them the Red Cross would help them find housing for the night.

“It’s just a sad thing I had to get flooded like I did,” said Mr. Oakes, a retired truck driver.

The fire took place with the temperature around 27 degrees.

“Any time you have extremes in temperature, whether it’s the cold or the heat, it’s going to affect firefighters,” Deputy Chief Jonas said. “In addition to the debilitating  effects of the cold on the operating firefighters, we have issues with hydrants freezing up, slippery conditions — people fall — things like that. It makes our job a lot more difficult.”

“Losing a home to a fire any time of year can be traumatic, but going through it in the freezing cold can make a bad situation much worse,” Mr. de Vulpillieres of the Red Cross said.

The story was updated to include information and comment from the American Red Cross.