NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Authorities confirmed that a fire broke out at a Brooklyn church on Easter Sunday and caused five victims to suffer minor injuries. At least one of those hurt is a firefighter.
The flames began at around 1:48 p.m. at the Our Lady of the Rosary Pompeii, a Catholic church located at 225 Seigel St. near Bushwick Avenue in East Williamsburg.
The approximate 150 people inside evacuated the building when smoke appeared.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries in the department’s efforts to quell the four-alarm blaze, police said. Fire officials also confirmed that there have been five total injuries, all minor in nature.
As of 4:13 p.m., fire operations remained ongoing, the FDNY said.
1010 WINS/WCBS 880’s Roger Stern was on the scene Sunday afternoon and found that the fire appeared to be coming from the building behind the main sanctuary.
Stern spoke with a man who attended mass on Sunday morning and said the fire seemed to be coming from an electrical panel, and that the main sanctuary quickly filled with black smoke.
Two or three people were living in the building where the fire took place, one of whom uses a wheelchair, but the parishioner said that they were all able to evacuate safely.
Video from Citizen App shows massive plumes of gray smoke billowing out of the building and a large presence from fire officials.
The FDNY did not immediately respond to 1010 WINS/WCBS 880’s request for information, but confirmed the large-scale operations on social media and have provided one update.
This is a developing story.