Nine alarm fire engulfs Brooklyn warehouses

May 2, 2006

A warehouse fire on Brooklyn's waterfront has become a nine alarm blaze. The complex of seven old warehouses has been virtually destroyed and authorities are currently investigating it as arson.

Some 400 firefighters have working to extinguish the fire which started a little after 5:30 in the morning. A technique referred to as "surround and drown" has been employed in which fire trucks have flanked the complex on three sides while boats pump water from the adjacent river onto the blaze.

According to the, some six million gallons of water have been pumped onto the site and the ninth alarm, which was posted around noon, makes it the second biggest fire in the city's history.

By noon, many of the buildings had been almost entirely destroyed. Area residents say that the complex was due to be demolished anyway to make a new park.