FDNY investigators were looking into whether or not fireworks sparked a major fire on New Year's Eve that injured at least seven people and left dozens without a home in Brooklyn.
The flames broke out around 7 p.m. Sunday near an apartment building under construction on Schenck Avenue in East New York, according to police and fire officials.
Investigators said the scaffolding caught fire and quickly spread within minutes. The glow from the flames and the smoke could be seen from blocks away.
At least seven people suffered minor injuries, including two young children, and two firefighters were also hospitalized with smoke inhalation. Multiple families have been displaced.
People in the neighborhood said the fire started with a bang.
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"I was watching the game and I heard an explosion, and the next thing you know the whole apartment was full of smoke," one witness said. "I had to get out, I couldn't breathe."
Another man said he saw kids playing with fireworks just before the explosion went off. An empty fireworks box left behind was discovered at the scene.
"When I was coming in, some kids was playing with fireworks here," Anthony Robinson said. "One of the things went over and went inside where the construction guys left the equipment at."
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Once the first started, it spread quickly. FDNY officials said that was largely due to construction equipment being left behind at the NYCHA building currently being renovated.
"Two seconds from the fireworks, the whole storage bin went up in flames. The back of the building, all of those apartments, the flames went right into their windows," Angela Robeson said.
The fire was brought under control within a couple hours, but 12 apartments on multiple floors suffered fire damage. Man others in the building were evacuated.
Officials said it was too early to definitively put the blame on fireworks, but said that angle was part of their investigation.
