Two firefighters were injured Tuesday night while battling a blaze on a normally quiet block of Gerritsen Beach.
The inferno broke out inside 72 Ebony Court shortly before 11:30 pm on Aug. 17, fire officials said, and first responders arrived to find heavy smoke and fire emitting from the second and third floor of the wood-frame dwelling, and its neighboring unit.
Firefighters operated five hose lines while knocking down the main body of the fire. In all, it took more than 125 firefighters two hours to bring the blaze under control.
Searches of the building and neighboring building were negative, meaning no residents were inside or harmed during the fire, though two firefighters suffered minor injuries.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the fire marshal’s office.
A GoFundMe launched to help the affected family rebuild their home raised over $12,000 in just five hours as of Wednesday at 5:00 pm.
“On the night of August 18 a horrific fire took away 17 years of love, laughter, and memories in a blink of an eye,” reads the GoFundMe. ” We are all so thankful that no one was injured and everyone is physically well but our lives have been turned upside down and forever traumatized.”
