Fire crews were called to 811 Cortelyou Road in Kensington at around 2:30 p.m. Thursdayfor calls reporting that the roof of the six-story apartment building was on fire. 

"Flames were breaking through the roof, the entire quadrant of the buildng, over there," said witness Richard Persaud. "You could see that the fire was just raging, raging, raging."

From the street - heavy smoke was visible to first responders and pedestrians. Witnesses describe it first as white smoke...then black ...and finally flames could be seen trying to escape the building. Many Residents - made it out with only the shirts on their back.  

"I just got myself out," said resident Claire Richard. When asked if she took anything with her, she said, "Just my keys and my bag."

As tenants fled to safety, firefighters moved in as the blaze rose to four alarms. Officials say more than 40 units and about 170 firefighters assisted in knocking down the blaze. The fire was deemed under control about an hour and a half after it started. 

“When we got inside, we found we had heavy fire on the roof in the cockloft, which is the area between the top floor and the roof," said FDNY Assistant Chief Joseph Ferreant, the Brooklyn borough commander. "When it gets into an area like that, it spreads very quickly."

The fire did cause property damage, but no civilians or firefighters were injured.  

According to the Red Cross, they were assisting residents living in about 20 units because they could not return to their homes, at least for now. Representatives from the Department of Buildings - were on scene as well. 

DOB records indicate that the apartment building has received more than a dozen violations dating back to 2007, most related to construction. The most recent was issued in June. 

"They’ve been doing work since last year," Richard said.

The Department of Buildings has issued a partial vacate order for 20 apartments in the building. The DOB says it issued a violation for the building in June after construction workers were found failing to follow coronavirus health guidelines.