Two Hospitalized By Electrical Fire On Avenue Z

Two people were hospitalized and residents had to evacuate because of an electrical fire on Saturday evening in the basement of a seven-story building at 1213 Avenue Z that knocked out power on the property for more than 24 hours, according to the FDNY.

The fire department says more than 100 emergency workers respond the fire, which was reported just after 9pm. All the residents were evacuated due to smoke conditions and two were sent to Coney Island Hospital, though the FDNY did not describe the two people’s injuries or say whether they had recovered.

Steven Kushnir, who lives down the street, said he noticed emergency crews blocking traffic on Avenue Z from East 14th Street to Coney Island Avenue while he was driving home that evening.

“The entire building was dark. Everyone had to be evacuated,” he said. “It looked like there were close to 100 people standing outside. There were also a couple of FDNY ambulances and I saw an older person being wheeled out.”

A Con Edison spokesperson said the company was investigating the cause of the fire and had restored power to the building by 10pm the next day.

In February, emergency crews had to combat another electrical fire at Avenue Z and East 14th Street, when an underground utility box caught fire. Fire and smoke climbed through a grate in the street for several hours before workers put out the flames. No power outages were caused by that incident.

Update 2:36pm: A video provided by one of the residents, who asked not to be identified, shows people gathered outside on the sidewalk beside several fire trucks. All the lights in the building are out.

https://youtu.be/oiv8KV25nTw