Fire Trucks

I can smell it big time. We're on Underhill btwn Sterling & Park and it smells like it's right outside our door. There are loads of lights and sirens out there. I hope it was, indeed, empty.

Subject: Photos posted

on Flickr :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomische/sets/72157617449958310/

oh wow - i guess that happened before i walked up.. hope they're ok. i don't know if the roof fell in though, because firefighters were walking back and forth on it pretty freely as they were putting it out. Either way, it's really a terrible thing.

Do hope everyone was all right. At around 8 o'clock tonight, there were 2 small fires in front of 2 buildings on Prospect Place. One was at the corner of Underhill in a garbage can, the other was in front of a building on Prospect between Underhill and Vanderbilt. HOpe someone is not going around starting small fires.

My impression (and it's just an impression, I don't know definitively) was that the roof did not fall in. I was watching as they were putting the fire out and after the visible flames and smoke subsided the firemen were pulling sections of the roof out, I guess to expose any remaining embers. So when looking into the window you could see through to the sky from the roof which is why it might have seemed like the roof had fallen in if you walked up later.

In regards to the garbage can fires mentioned by cb I doubt that the apartment fire had a similar cause given that it was in a top floor apartment. Again, not saying I know how this fire was started, just seems like a reach to connect it t someone starting fires in garbage cans on the street a few blocks away.

A fire truck is on Plaza Street East & Butler. Small fires were set in the berm and a pile of sticks next to a building on the corner of Plaza Street East and Butler Place was also set on fire. Not sure all fires mentioned here are related, but these two would seem to be.

I walked to my building on Butler about 6:30pm. Didn't see anything out of sorts; nobody was lurking around the sidewalk. I back walked out 10 to 15 minutes later and noticed the fire truck. Then I noticed that someone had set a fire against the building. At first I thought that the firefighters were here for that fire, but then I noticed the smoke from the berm. I had to go over to them and point out the small brush fire on Butler.

I talked to the firefighters. They said that someone's been going around the neighborhood lighting small fires for the past three days. They definitely think that it's the same person.

I guess that all we can do is to keep an eye out. So far, these have been little nuisance fires, but it's probably only a matter of time before this person gets a little bolder (or maybe with the larger berm fire he/she/they already is/are.)

whynot_31 wrote: A few years ago there were lots of fires set along Pacific between Franklin and Washington. A few people died.

I remember they arrested one guy for the deadly fire, but don't know if he was charged for the rest of them....

Wasn't this something to do with some mortgage fraud?

Jesus! I wonder if the same guy is responsible for this: http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=50298

whynot_31 wrote: [quote=BKChickie][quote=whynot_31]A few years ago there were lots of fires set along Pacific between Franklin and Washington. A few people died.

I remember they arrested one guy for the deadly fire, but don't know if he was charged for the rest of them....

Wasn't this something to do with some mortgage fraud?

there were several fires. Yes, I remember the the big fatal one was related to mortgage fraud. ....but I don't think anyone was ever charged in the others

Nobody was ever charged. THere was more to it than mortgage fraud. The fire were meant to burn out the existing tenants. If you get rid of low income renters you can replace them with new and improved renters, but if you lucky the building will have to be torn down and can be replaced with overpriced condos.

For those who weren't around PH/CH in 2006, here's a refresher on the fires:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pacific+street+arson+brooklyn&aq=f&oq=

Back on topic, it seems joseph11 is right, the arrest I remember was for mortgage fraud, not arson

http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/arson_investigation_reveals_mortgage_fraud/

http://www.brooklynda.org/press_releases/pr_jun_08.htm#03

BKChickie wrote: Maybe I'm thinking about something else. I seem to remember that a couple was charged last year with arson in conjunction with some kind of fraud.

...me too. But I can't find it, and have actual work to do...

I'm pretty sure that I am thinking of this instance:

http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=438874&sid=0538e63dc115d3047d635e8053ca00da

I don't think that these recent fires and the Pacific Street fires are related. I don't even think that these recent fires and the building fire at St. Johns and Underhill are related. But, really, I have no idea--I'm just making an uneducated guess.