Devastating Red Hook Warehouse Fire Still Burning More Than a Day Later

The 150-year-old building was home to dozens of artists and small businesses

Roughly 36 hours later, Firefighters are still extinguishing what remains of a massive five-alarm fire that broke out in a warehouse along the Red Hook waterfront late Wednesday night.

The Van Brunt Street warehouses went up around midnight on September 17, according to CBS New York. The blaze began on the building’s third floor, where carpenters kept shops, and quickly collapsed both the fourth floor and the roof, per the property manager’s assessment. A pair of FDNY firefighters were treated for minor injuries, but luckily, no one was in the building when the fire began to spread.

At the time of the fire, the 150-year-old building at 481 Van Brunt St., long home to artist studios, galleries, and small businesses, was storing the work of dozens of artists ahead of the neighborhood-wide Red Hook Open Studios event in October. It’s unclear just how many artists had work ruined or altogether destroyed (many of those participating work in other parts of the neighborhood), but a GoFundMe has been launched to support the artists impacted by the fire, with a separate fund for the businesses. The warehouse, on the other hand, has been absolutely devastated by both fire and water damage from the relief effort, which is ongoing. While the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, an investigation is underway.

A few of the building’s tenants have managed to collect themselves enough to put out some prayers and ask for support. See them below.