In the early hours of November 5th local time, a severe fire broke out in a two-story row house on Seventh Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York City, resulting in 6 deaths and 9 injuries.
The fire-stricken residence was built in 1915. Sunset Park is located in the southwest of Brooklyn and is a community with a high concentration of Asian and Latin American residents in New York City. Local media, NY1, reported that community members and local elected officials stated that the victims are believed to be Chinese, including several elderly residents. The exact identities of the victims have not been officially confirmed by the police.
According to the New York fire department, the fire started around 1:40 a.m. The flames spread quickly to all levels of the residential building. By the time firefighters arrived, there was open fire on every floor of the building, and flames were spraying out through the windows. Over 200 firefighters and emergency responders were involved in the rescue efforts. The fire department upgraded the alert level from three to five. During the rescue operation, firefighters rescued four people from inside the building. The fire was brought under control about three hours later, but the second floor of the building and part of the stairs collapsed. Among the nine injured people, there were four civilians, three firefighters, and two police officers.
According to reports from Chinese expatriate websites citing foreign media, a Chinese couple survived the fire in their residence. It was reported that the couple lived in a room on the back side of the first floor. They were asleep when the incident occurred. Being awakened by thick smoke, they found themselves unable to escape due to the intense flames outside the door. Since the windows had railings installed, they could only open the windows to call for help. The couple was later rescued by firefighters and taken to a hospital for treatment. The couple confirmed that one of the two electric vehicles at the scene belonged to them. However, at the time, the electric vehicles were parked at the stairway and were not in a charging state.
Another community resident told media that a male resident living on the first floor of the burning house had damaged the wiring near the sockets on the second-floor walls on the morning of the 4th, causing a short circuit and sparking.
The rescued couple also believes that the man is suspected of having deliberately set fire. They said that on the day of the fire, the man had cut the wires. They suggested that the landlord call the police, but there was no result. After the incident, they learned that the man had moved into this house because he owed rent at another accommodation.
The couple said that the man had conflicts with other residents for several times since moving in over a month ago. He once cut through the wires, causing a power outage, and also pulled apart the walls inside and outside the house. There was garbage piled up in the rooms of those residents, emitting a foul smell. They reported this to the landlord and suggested calling the police, but were dissuaded by the landlord.
At present, the whereabouts of this man are unknown, and neither the husband nor the wife knows his identity information.
According to local construction department records, the affected residence was complained about in 2025, with issues such as illegal conversion of the house into multiple apartment units and unauthorized construction being pointed out. Currently, investigators are still investigating the exact cause of the fire.
