Hundreds of firefighters and first responders responded to a fire tonight at Staten Island’s Loretto Hills campus that destroyed a vacant warehouse behind a prominent church in Pleasant Plains and injured one firefighter.
The New York City Fire Department said nearly 200 firefighters and emergency personnel arrived at about 5:40 p.m. and found a serious fire throughout the building. “There was intense fire throughout the building. We immediately took defensive action,” said Kevin Woods, chief of operations for the FDNY. “We set up multiple large bore streams, tower ladders and hand ropes.”
The FDNY said one firefighter suffered minor burns to his leg.
(Image source: NBC New York, via Citizen App)
The initial call came in about a fire in a chapel on campus, but crews found an old warehouse behind the chapel engulfed in flames. The warehouse has been vacant for at least five years.
“The structure sustained significant damage. The roof did collapse and now we are maintaining a collapse zone around the structure,” Woods said.
Firefighters also faced the challenge of providing enough water to the area to extinguish the blaze. A man who lives in the area and who identified himself as a retired FDNY lieutenant described hydrants with limited capacity.
“The amount of water in the hydrants was not enough to provide enough water to put out a fire like this. So they called in satellite equipment,” he said.
The Loretto Hills campus is operated by Catholic Charities of Staten Island and offers a range of community programs. Woods said the campus has 36 buildings.
“This campus has 36 buildings, including two schools, a senior center, etc.,” Woods said.
The FDNY said no other buildings were damaged, although strong winds blew burning embers into the air.
“Some of the challenges were the wind. It was very windy here tonight. Our troops did a great job dealing with a lot of flying embers and prevented other structures from catching fire,” Woods added.
Firefighters are investigating to determine how the fire started. Crews are expected to remain on site overnight to monitor the situation.
This story was originally reported and broadcast by NBC New York. Artificial intelligence tools helped convert the story into a digital article, which NBC New York reporters edited for publication.