A clean-up worker removes rubble at 71 Stanhope St., where unattended incense combined with a fire dancer’s torch fuel to burn the house down. — Photo by Diego Cupolo
A local haven for artists, musicians, and drifters went up in flames after a resident left burning incense unattended near a canister of torch fuel. The fire occurred Saturday, April 3, at 71 Stanhope Street, a three-story flophouse known for its cheap rent and shady maintenance, but the cause was not confirmed until today by FDNY officials.
One firefighter was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center with minor injuries, but no residents were harmed in the incident.
The blaze started after resident Susannah Pryce, a fire dancer, left incense burning in her room on the second floor where she kept a half-filled, one-gallon canister of Coleman’s camp fuel. She had taken her son to a nearby playground that afternoon and when she returned less than 30 minutes later, the house was in flames and residents were evacuating. Pryce’s full account of the incident is available on her blog.
Former resident Adriano Moraes, a graphic novel author, said he was not surprised by the incident since the landlord, Roberto Santana, packed so many people into a house with 10 rooms and few electrical outlets.
“He had an entire Mexican family in the basement and the rest of us were living in rooms the size of shoe boxes,” Moraes said. “It’s hard to say, but I would guess between twenty and thirty people lived there.”
In the meantime, the Red Cross has found a hotel room for Pryce and her son while other residents are staying with friends. Among them, Yva Las Vegas, a former bandmate of Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, said she won’t miss the house.
“The back porch was falling apart, there were gas leaks, bad plumbing, bad electrical work, there were children in the house,” Las Vegas said. “You know, he kept it painted, but it was just a regular old slum.”
“That house is better off gone,” she added.
The landlord did not return calls to BushwickBK.
FDNY officials recommend all residents follow the proper safety guidelines [pdf] when using incense, candles and other small flames inside a house.
Bushwick Homeowner April 16th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Tragic, but I don’t care if you live a flophouse or at 15 CPW, if you leave incense burning in your room where you keep a half-filled, one-gallon canister of Coleman’s camp fuel, you’re asking for trouble.
Matt April 16th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I fixed the end for you.
FDNY officials recommend all residents follow the proper safety guidelines [pdf] [[and think about how stupid you are being]] when using incense, candles and other small flames inside a house [[if you have a frickin half gallon of camp fuel sitting around]].
Professional Alternative April 17th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Okay I feel bad for the forgetful girl, this must be the most horrifically embarrassing thing to happen in her life. But I don’t get the comments by the other tenants as if they’re glad their house burned down. If it was so bad why live there? Maybe because it was extremely inexpensive? Life has trade offs, and you get to choose them. You chose cheap shithole. As far as I’m concerned, this is not the landlord’s fault in the least — he’s not the one lighting unattended shit on fire in a house full of people. I’d like to hear his side.
Brandon April 19th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
“Former resident Adriano Moraes, a graphic novel author, said he was not surprised by the incident since the landlord, Roberto Santana, packed so many people into a house with 10 rooms and few electrical outlets.”
Huh? It may be a crappy apartment but obviously the landlord isn’t at fault for this fire…
sg April 19th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
For the record, the fuel can was intact and found half full of fuel. The author basically is misinformed and making false statements when he says torch fuel and incense burned the place down. I would sue if i was her.
Diego April 19th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Ok sg, excuse the hole in my reporting, I should have included this quote from my phone interview with Pryce in the original article but did not because I wanted to keep the piece short:
Me: “So was the fuel in the can burned in the fire?”
Pryce: “Yes, after the fire I went in my room with the fire marshall and the can was completely empty and burned.”
According to Pryce, it was a one-gallon canister that was half full before the fire.