At least one person died and several others were injured when a fire tore through a Brooklyn apartment building Monday afternoon, authorities said.

Officials said FDNY members responded to an all-hands fire at 165 Rockaway Parkway, in the Brownsville section of the borough, just after 2 p.m.

When they arrived, they found two victims has jumped out of windows on the top-most floor of the six-story apartment building, officials said.


What You Need To Know

  • FDNY members responded to an all-hands fire at 165 Rockaway Parkway just after 2 p.m. on Monday

  • Four victims were discovered at the scene, including a 49-year-old man who was pronounced dead

  • Apartment residents said they heard an explosion before the fire and the building’s owner said some unauthorized repairs had been taking place

  • The cause of the fire remains under investigation

A total of four people were injured, one with only minor injuries. Authorities said two victims were transported to the hospital in serious condition. The fourth victim, identified only as a 49-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene.

It remains unclear if the man was one of the two people who fell from the top floor.

The building’s owner was onsite Monday night supervising the repairs to the apartment, including holes through the ceiling and roof. He said some sort of renovation work was happening in the apartment that he did not approve.

“The fire marshal told me told me that it was a heavy-duty machinery that exploded in the apartment,” said building owner Isaac Hager. “Thirty-seven years in the business, I never saw such a fire in my lifetime. Such a damage in one single apartment.”

Neighbors on the floor said they saw the person who lives in the apartment as they tried to evacuate the building.

“He dropped to his knees in a state of shock. He was burned,” said Mark Silva, who lives across the hall from where the flames broke out.

Videos captured by witnesses in the area showed another person clinging onto a window, while another showed one of those victims landing on shrubbery and the second on pavement. Some building residents said they heard an explosion.

“Boom. That was a window blow up on that side over there and then the other guy right here, he jumped and hit the grass,” said resident Anthony Tillman.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.