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At Least 15 Families, 2 Businesses Displaced in Washington Avenue Fire

Although the building gutted in Saturday's fire was mostly vacant, at least 14 people living nearby have been forced to leave their homes and a deli and a laundromat have been destroyed.

 

Two days after the fire that caused the partial collapse of 816 Washington Ave., at least 11 people have lost their homes and two businesses were destroyed.

Although the four-story, mostly residential building brought down by the blaze was vacant except for the deli on the ground floor, the 14 apartments at 820 Washington Ave. next door were evacuated as well as one apartment at 824 Washington. Five families made up of 11 adults and three children are currently being housed in area hotels, a spokesman for Red Cross of Greater New York said.

The deli on the ground floor of 816, Washington Food Center, was destroyed in the fire and Ali’s Laundromat at 450 St. Johns Place around the corner was severely damaged. The nearby Calabar Imports, Boost Mobile and Coffee Bites were also damaged and have been temporarily shut down.

The fire, which began shortly after 4 a.m. at the corner of St. Johns Place, took firefighters three hours to bring under the control. Nearly 200 firefighters participated in the battle, which caused a section of a wall to collapse, gutted the inside of the building and destroyed the deli at street level.

One firefighter was hit in the face by a falling brick, was brought to King County Hospital with “serious” injuries and released the same day. Six other firefighters and one civilian were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, an FDNY spokesman said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials said.

This is the second fire on the block in nine days. A 21-year-old woman died in a fire  just across the street at 767 Washington Avenue on May 27.

Amy Sara Clark contributed reporting to this article.

Related Topics: Crown Heights Brooklyn, Fire, Fire on Washington Avenue, and Prospect Heights Brooklyn

Ekayani Chamberlin

10:35 pm on Sunday, June 12, 2011

After the fire at Calabar Imports,

And after we rebuild, I am a PHOENIX....so,

I plan to curate:

an exhibition called PHOENIX RISING

and I am Seeking Artists

for a RELAUNCH/REOPENING EXHIBITION at Calabar Imports.

Phoenix represents a REBIRTH

"A mythical bird that never dies, the Phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it. The Phoenix, with its great beauty, creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration."
- The Feng Shui Handbook, Feng Shui Master Lam Kam Chuen.

Tentative Dates: August 15 - September 30, 2011

Please send an artist statement, 3 images to be considered for the exhibition. More details to atimoton@yahoo.com

Atim Annette Oton
Calabar Imports
820 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-638-4288

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