The Great Bushwick Fire of 1977

[R1SmokeEater 359]

A famous NYC fire that occured in 1977 in Brooklyn's Bushwick section, Here's a link to recently published photos (up till now, mostly the same couple pix were around).

City Noise website w/ article

http://citynoise.org/article/6739

Edited January 3, 2011 by R1SmokeEater

[JBE 328]

Great find, dude.

[Anthony Tester 13]

Knickerbocker Avenue & Bleeker Street, July 18, 1977.

If you search around the web, there are some great shots of this fire. I believe this went to 10 alarms.

[R1SmokeEater 359]

"If you search around the web, there are some great shots of this fire. I believe this went to 10 alarms."

> These are the most common (and impressive) shots seen of this job, the link above is the "newest" ones up recently, with stories from those that were there.

Edited January 4, 2011 by R1SmokeEater

[nfd2004 750]

I went down there the next day as a buff. I couldn't believe my eyes. The most fire damage I had ever seen. In fact to this day it still is. The Bushwick section of Brooklyn had been the hot spot during the years of 1976 and 1977. Eng 271, 277, Lad 124, Lad 112, and Batt 28 had reached the top spots for runs and workers. Before that, as a buff I was hanging out in The Bronx and Harlem. But with the activity picking up quickly in Bushwick, my hangout was at a McDonalds on Broadway near Lafayette St in Brooklyn.

The summer of 1977 was really hot. Three days before this fire was the Blackout of 1977. The FDNY fought thousands of fires that night and even into the next day. The Bushwick neighborhood was one of the areas that had the most fires and arrest during the Blackout.

I believe three juviniles were caught for starting this famous 10 Alarm fire. When caught, their biggest concern was "Is my picture going to be in the paper" ? With the Blackout of 77 and this Massive Fire something had to be done. As a result, the city made an extra 300 Fire Marshalls who got called Red Caps, as they wanted to be highly visible and wore RED Baseball Caps. They investigated every suspicious fire and followed up on every lead. As a result, the FDNY WAR Years were coming to an end. Starting around 1963/65, to the Fall of 1977, the FDNY fought fires of Historic porporations.

But it was the result of this Massive Fire and the Blackout that basically ended the period in time that is called "The FDNY War Years".

If you might be interested, there are many stories, photos, and videos on www.nycfire.net under History, called; "My Younger Buff Years".

[Stepjam 118]

I saw the color pictures here a long time ago, but I just realized now after looking at the B&W ones that the 3-story bookstore building on the opposite corner exposure is fully involved. Call me crazy, but I used to think it was only a reflection from the main fire. It's almost inconceivable that an exterior can get going like that, yet the rest of the structure looks fine.

With that kind of volume, I would imagine there must have been a pretty stiff breeze in the direction of the fire. I'm looking at that probably-doomed tree in one shot, looks like its leaves are getting whipped up pretty good. Bet it was loud. Then there's that poor Ford LTD under the rubble, unburned but crushed flat. I read through the thread on Jamie's link, and saw that some folks lost everything. It's really a miracle that there were no serious injuries.

What ever happened to the little peckerheads who started it? And what the Hell was inside that "abandoned" factory?

[nfd2004 750]

One of the major factors in the spread of the fire that day was Low Water Pressure. It was an Extremely hot, humid day and most of the hydrants were open with the water running down the streets. I really don't think there was much of a wind that day. My guess is that several buildings just lite off by the radiant heat (as probadly seen in one of the pictures). If there was a wind it was created from the massive fire. I've seen that happen a few times before.

Edited January 6, 2011 by nfd2004

[Stepjam 118]

One of the major factors in the spread of the fire that day was Low Water Pressure. It was an Extremely hot, humid day and most of the hydrants were open with the water running down the streets. I really don't think there was much of a wind that day. My guess is that several buildings just lite off by the radiant heat (as probadly seen in one of the pictures). If there was a wind it was created from the massive fire. I've seen that happen a few times before.

That's what I meant to say. That fire was so big, it probably sucked in the surrounding air and created a noticeable breeze. I read about the firebombing of Hamburg during WWII, the winds generated by the man-made firestorm vortex reached 130 mph. It just pulled everything in.

[Anthony Tester 13]

I saw the color pictures here a long time ago, but I just realized now after looking at the B&W ones that the 3-story bookstore building on the opposite corner exposure is fully involved. Call me crazy, but I used to think it was only a reflection from the main fire. It's almost inconceivable that an exterior can get going like that, yet the rest of the structure looks fine.

With that kind of volume, I would imagine there must have been a pretty stiff breeze in the direction of the fire. I'm looking at that probably-doomed tree in one shot, looks like its leaves are getting whipped up pretty good. Bet it was loud. Then there's that poor Ford LTD under the rubble, unburned but crushed flat. I read through the thread on Jamie's link, and saw that some folks lost everything. It's really a miracle that there were no serious injuries.

What ever happened to the little peckerheads who started it? And what the Hell was inside that "abandoned" factory?

Good eye. That is why I posted the color photos (for a little perspective). Nice to see the scene from a different angle.

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

Good eye. That is why I posted the color photos (for a little perspective). Nice to see the scene from a different angle.

I remember seeing the header from oakland beach in rye .