21 injured in blazing fire at shopping center in Brooklyn

Fire rages through a parking garage close to King's Plaza shopping center.

A fire broke out on the morning of September 18, 2018, at approximately 9.00 am, and quickly spread through a parking garage in Brooklyn, New York, according to a post on Twitter by US News. 

The gravity of the fire escalated rapidly from a two-alarm to a seven-alarm fire within the span of an hour, and videos of the catastrophe posted online show towering billows of smoke ensuing from the site.

As a result of the inferno, 21 people have been reported injured, among them 14  firefighters suffering from smoke inhalation.

ORIGINS OF BROOKLIN FIRE YET UNKNOWN

"Kings Plaza is currently closed as there is a fire in the parking garage and smoke conditions in and around the mall," 

Dawn Simon, The Independent, September 18, 2018.

Neither the Police nor the Brooklin fire department have made any declarations or commented on the possible cause of the fire, or if arson is suspected.

Several floors of the parking garage were reportedly engulfed in flames, but it appears that a line of cars reportedly caught fire on the second floor and rapidly spread through the structure.

HAVOC DISRUPTS NEW YORK RUSH HOUR

One of the consequences of the fire in a parking garage close to the 120 store Kings Plaza Shopping center, was the disruption of New York's MTA system.

CITY'S PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM COMPROMISED BY FIRE

Half-a-dozen bus lines experienced delays during rush hour, as over 200 firefighters sped to the scene of the deflagration.

MARITIME MEANS DEPLOYED TO FIGHT FIRE

In addition to the traditional means and resources, marine units were deployed and were fighting the blaze from the river, alongside which the Plaza is located.

RESIDENTS ADVISED TO "AVOID THE AREA"

Dawn Simon, a spokesperson for the Kings Plaza shopping center asked Brooklin residents to “avoid the area” as several neighboring roads were closed down. Simon also alerted people to the dangers of the dense smoke hovering over the site.

HUNDREDS OF VEHICLES DESTROYED IN THE FIRE

The New York Fire Department Commissioner, Daniel Nigro has stated that when the firefighters responded to the reported fire, they found several vehicles on fire.

The flames spread to the third floor, where more cars were incinerated by the blaze. According to Nigri, local car dealerships had close to 120 cars stored in the garage.

ANOTHER SHOPPING CENTER BLAZE

Another early morning fire erupted at a South African retail park on July 26, 2018. The blaze threatened to consumed East Rand Retail Park in Boksburg before firefighters brought it under control.

Several major chain stores had shops in the Retail Park, but fortunately, only three shops were destroyed by the fire.

No injuries were reported, and the damage by smoke to the goods and structure have yet to be evaluated.

In a related story, a heroic firefighter who saved hundreds on 9/11 dies at age 45 after losing his battle with cancer.