Bushwick '77: The All Hands Fire

upfromflames: 1st May 2007 - 03:17 GMT

maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&z=15&ll=40.704034,-73.919663&spn=0.014705,0.029182&om=1&msid=118060197583294432954.00000111d38630a484f78&msa=0

This is my new google map, built for a June 2nd walking tour. But you can find this and other interesting locations for learning all about Bushwick History 77-2007.

Bushwick '77
Live here. Learn here.

upfromflames: 1st May 2007 - 03:29 GMT

http://www.maplib.net/map.php?id=1198

You can also find a panoramic map here. Not as developed, but coming along....

joey: 1st May 2007 - 05:33 GMT

there are few pictures better to photograph than a squirting fire hose, or two

Don Canham, Lt. NYFD Ret.: 7th May 2007 - 02:12 GMT

That fire was no "all hands" fire. It was a Boro Call. A boro call is when you run out of enough companies to handle the fire and resort to using companies from other boros, hence a "boro call". I worked out of E-277 on Knickerbocker Avenue between Gates and Palmetto Streetfor a year in a unit called the TCU, Tactical control Unit. As a fireman I went by that corner anywhere from one to fifteen times a tour. After making lieutenant I went to stand by at the aftermath. We also went by Schwaben Hall as many times. We wondered if they would burn down the hall. They did and the surrounding neighborhood was one of the busiest in Brooklyn. Hopefully Bushwick can regain its former glory.

john urbanski: 4th Jun 2007 - 06:20 GMT

I remember the fire very well. Was in front of my house about a mile or so away and seeing a great deal of smoke coming from that direction. Grabbed my camera and headed for the area.
It was a hot summer day to begin with but the heat from the fire made it even worse. Don't think I've seen anything as bad as this in person that was set by kids. Will upload photos when I find them.

Jose Rosa: 7th Feb 2008 - 04:08 GMT

I was seven when the fire took place and I didnt live far and i can still remember the intense heat from the fire, it was sad day...

mike: 9th Aug 2008 - 09:38 GMT

I lost my home in this fire and these pictures bring back sad memories of that day.I come from a family of 8 children and we basically lost everything.That knitting mill was abandoned for years.I am 51 yrs old and will never forget it.My address was 248 Bleecker St which you can see in these pictures.

anon (user1.cablevision.com): 2nd Dec 2008 - 11:38 GMT

Mike(comment Aug.9th, 9:38), can you email me habraham@news12.com We would like to do something with the fire, even though it's been years. Thank you.

TFSCharlie: 29th Mar 2009 - 01:39 GMT

When L-124 pulled up, the heat was intense; Chauffeur went back into rig to reposition it. Windows were melting & he burned his hands on the steering wheel. Builings 50 to 90 feet away from original fire building spontaneously combusted & burst into flames due to the heat waves. I got OTJ in November 1977 & heard about this fire from many senior members since I was assigned to a company nearby.

Peter: 29th Mar 2009 - 01:51 GMT

TFSCharlie, i think i speak for many of us here- id love to hear more of your stories like this... first-hand tales of summer 1977 in bushwick always draw me in, and theyre growing increasingly rare in the neighborhood...

Brian: 26th May 2009 - 22:52 GMT

To....Lt .Don canham......did you work with Ed Yany in TCU
I worked with him in L11....I worked in Bushwick L-112 until a year ago

mike: 13th Jun 2009 - 22:50 GMT

I was involved in this fire I lived at 248 Bleecker St.It was the saddest day of my life.We lost everything,all I had left were the clothes on my back and many of my friends ended up losing there homes that day.It was over 100 degrees and no water in the hydrants that knitting mill was abandoned for years and once that went up it was all over.It was a rough time for everyone.It was the neighborhood that time forgot.

upfromflames: 14th Jun 2009 - 03:51 GMT

I can't thank you enough for leaving your words here. I'll make sure your experience is recorded for others to read about. If you' like to share any photos or memories, please feel free to contact me at my gmail address, or though www.upfromflames.com

Chuck: 15th Nov 2009 - 22:46 GMT

And 2 months later, the blackout that devastated Broadway

upfromflames: 16th Nov 2009 - 00:03 GMT

one week earlier, actually. the fire happened Monday, the 18th of July. The blackout was from Wednesday to Friday. I just interviewed a guy who lost his house in the fire. My condolences to all who suffered in this way, like Mike, Carlos, and the 65 other families that day.

anon (cpe-67-244-89-152.nyc.res.rr.com): 26th Jul 2010 - 01:55 GMT

I was one of the first to call 911 for this fire. I was just 18 and working in the liquor store on Myrtle Ave between Green & Bleecker St. My Aunt and family lost everything they had while they were on vacation. They lived on Knickerbocker between Bleecker & MEnahan

bill: 29th Jul 2010 - 21:24 GMT

i remember this fire well. in my early days. it took a lot of people and units to control

Bklyn Pete: 4th Apr 2011 - 06:33 GMT

I was there that day, remember it well. It was one of the hottest days of the year, when a couple of Spanish kids lit a fire in the abandoned factory at Knick. and Bleecker. The flames shot across the streets and torched all the nearby buildings on all four sides. The 83rd Precinct then relocated there. I just read a book by one of those cops called "THE JUSTICE GARDEN" in it he talks a lot about the Bushwick and Coney Island sections. A good read if you come from those areas, or Brooklyn period.

Victor velez: 12th Jan 2012 - 05:04 GMT

I remember this fire very well,I was 10 years old, I lived at 236 Linden St at the corner of knickerbocker... I will always remember the heat, the smoke and the smell from that fire. I remember running down and seeing that the old church was destroyed along with that huge factory... The news was there.... Wow that smell lingered for weeks....

Bb2ru: 19th Dec 2012 - 14:49 GMT

I'm trying to locate a girl who used to go by the name of "Candy" her real name is Christina Payne, used to hang around Broadway and Myrtle Aves in the 70's, had a baby girl who she never met. Her duaghter is trying to locate her mom.Thanks

Lil: 8th Mar 2013 - 23:47 GMT

I remember this all so well. I lived on Bleecker Street between Central & Evergreen Avenue. I thank you for posting the story and pictures for even though it was a saddened day it has bought back many memories. I would like to know if you have any pictures of Knickerbocker Avenue during the late 60s through early 80s? I also would like to know how many people remember Nick's Pizzeria on Knickerbocker Avenue close to Himord Street? My brother is trying to tell me that there was no such pizzeria, I recall it very vividly.

Bb2ru: 12th Mar 2013 - 14:21 GMT

Nick's pizzeria was one of the best, your right it was on Knick and Himrod