The Associated Press
NEW YORK- A fire erupted Sunday on the roof of a building shared by a police station and a firehouse, causing construction workers’ gas tanks to explode and shoot fireballs into the sky.
Three 100-pound (45-kilogram) propane cylinders exploded, but the 10 workers, who were tarring the roof, escaped unharmed, the fire department said.
“If they hadn’t gotten off the roof in time we could have had several dead people,” fire Deputy Assistant Chief John Coloe said.
One of the 100 responding firefighters was injured when she fell down some stairs.
The fire started at 3:11 p.m. on top of the downtown Brooklyn building that houses the police department’s 84th Precinct and the fire department’s 31st Battalion, both of which were temporarily evacuated, Coloe said.
It was declared under control about 3:45 p.m., and there was not much damage to the building. No cause had been determined. Tanks of propane often are used as fuel for the heat required in certain construction jobs, such as tarring a roof or curing concrete.
City Councilwoman Letitia James, who represents the area, said she would investigate whether the roofers were documented and why they were working on a Sunday.