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Firefighters Battle Massive Blaze Amid Freezing Temperatures in NYC

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Warehouse Fire
Firefighters continued to fight an ongoing warehouse fire on Feb. 1, 2015.Seth Wenig—AP
By TIME Photo

Around 270 firefighters and emergency medical services personnel were working to contain a seven-alarm fire on the New York City waterfront Saturday.

The blaze, which engulfed a storage building in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, cast thick, black smoke across the New York City skyline.

Firefighters are expected to be on the scene for days and possibly weeks, a FDNY spokesperson told TIME. Attempts to contain the fire were hampered by sub-freezing temperatures and high gusts of wind.

The fire is the largest the FDNY has battled since a 2006 fire at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse, also in Brooklyn.

 

Warehouse Fire
Firefighters continued to fight an ongoing warehouse fire on Feb. 1, 2015. Seth Wenig—AP
Warehouse Fire
Fire Department officials say air quality in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn has been compromised by the blaze that left one person injured from smoke inhalation. Seth Wenig—AP
Warehouse fire in Brooklyn, New York
An aerial view of a large fire in Brooklyn, New York, Jan. 31, 2015. Gary He—EPA
Six-Alarm Fire Rages On Brooklyn's Waterfront
Firefighters work to contain a building fire that went to seven alarms at the CitiStorage warehouse building in the Willamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.Spencer Platt—Getty Images
Six-Alarm Fire Rages On Brooklyn's Waterfront
Temperatures in New York during the fire were in the teens.Spencer Platt—Getty Images
Members of the New York Fire Department battle a six alarm fire in a storage facility on the waterfront of the East River in New York
Marine units (visible at left) also helped to put out the fire.Lucas Jackson—Reuters
Six-Alarm Fire Rages On Brooklyn's Waterfront
Smoke was visible for miles as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.Spencer Platt—Getty Images
Warehouse fire in Brooklyn, New York
Firefighters are expected to have to spend days, possibly weeks on scene.Justin Lane—EPA

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