Hog hell: Pig roast sparks B’klyn blaze
A 26-POUND PIG roasting on a spit for a traditional New Year’s Eve feast sparked a smoky blaze that ripped through a Brooklyn apartment building Sunday morning, charring several residents’ homes.
Carlos David was hoping to ring in the new year with succulent, fresh-cooked pork that had been roasting slowly over a fire for hours.
Instead, he and his neighbors wound up scrambling out of their Lenox Road home in East Flatbush when the pig — which David decided to cook in his basement instead of outside — caught fire.
“I don’t know why he did it inside,” David’s son Joshua David, told the Daily News. “He’s done this every year, outside. But it never got this bad.”
Firefighters were called to the six-story building near Rogers Ave. about 9:50 a.m. as the fire was tearing its way through the basement and first floor.
More than 100 firefighters fought the blaze, which was under control within a half-hour, an FDNY spokesman said.
When the fire was put out, a smoking pig carcass skewered on a large metal rod (inset) was found on the floor in the burned, smoke-filled basement.
David’s pig roast landed him in cuffs — FDNY fire marshals charged him with arson and reckless endangerment.
Neighbors theorized that the pork lover decided to roast inside because of the bone-chilling temperatures gripping the city as 2017 came to a close.
Carlos David, 23, said he was looking forward to the annual dinner with his dad, which was to kick off at 9 p.m.
“I really want to talk to him and see why the hell he did this today,” he said. “He messed up, but he’s a good guy.”
No injuries were reported, but a handful of residents had their homes turned into waterlogged smokehouses.
Charles Cameron, 74, spent his Sunday afternoon trying to blow the smoke smell out of his apartment with an industrial fan.
His back bedroom was left completely charred. Plywood boards covered the broken windows to keep out the cold.
“My bedroom is destroyed,” said the senior, who has lived in the building for 30 years. “I can’t sleep there. I’m going to have to sleep in my living room.”