Well that's some fire!

Smoking fire off of 4th ave. Looks big, but I haven't gotten close to the block yet. I can smell the plumes of smoke and the police sirens are a blazing.

From gothamist

Fire | 196 4th Ave & Sackett St Brooklyn, NY | 9/23/2011 1:35 p.m.

Man, the smoke rising up is insane.

damn. ....that thing is burning despite all this rain and the fire fighters

It's been over 3 hours and there's still mayhem on 4th Avenue. At least no more smoke now.

good photos here:

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2011/09/fire-at-dankin-auto-at-4th-avenue-and-degraw/#disqus_thread

Yikes! I could smell it at Montague/Henry at around 2pm.

We smelled it at my work as well, Montague and Clinton. Went outside to make sure it wasnt our building. Crazy that it floated that far!

It's still being put out early Saturday morning. The CHIPS (Park Slope Christian Help, a Franciscan nuns' charity) food kitchen and homeless-mother shelter is out of service. But everyone was evacuated safely, and the building is apparently not heavily damaged.

Are there other soup kitchens nearby where it's easy to volunteer? Secular opportunities preferred. I've never been prayed over when cooking in CHIPS's very fine kitchen, but the beneficiaries of CHIPS's good works may not be so lucky.

It's still being put out early Saturday morning. The CHIPS (Park Slope Christian Help, a Franciscan nuns' charity) food kitchen and homeless-mother shelter is out of service. But everyone was evacuated safely, and the building is apparently not heavily damaged.

Are there other soup kitchens nearby where it's easy to volunteer? Secular opportunities preferred. I've never been prayed over when cooking in CHIPS's very fine kitchen, but the beneficiaries of CHIPS's good works may not be so lucky.