‘Suspicious devices’ found after Brooklyn fire deemed non-hazardous

Suspicious devices discovered in a Williamsburg apartment building after an all-hands fire on Tuesday were found to be benign, police said.

The blaze broke out on the fourth floor of a four-story building on Keap Street at around 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 17, according to the FDNY.

A man was forced to jump out of a fourth-floor window to escape a fast moving kitchen fire in Williamsburg on Tuesday. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

A resident of the unit sustained critical injuries after he leaped from a fourth-floor window to escape the flames, and was rushed by Hatzolah to NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue. The man, whose identity has not been released, was in critical but stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters managed to get the flames under control by 12:14 p.m., per the FDNY, but as fire marshals began investigating the scene, they discovered two suspicious devices and called in the NYPD Bomb Squad for support. Multiple buildings were evacuated as the squad investigated, but the items were determined to be “non-hazardous.”

The NYPD’s bomb squad investigated the device and deemed it “non-hazardous.” Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

The items in question may have been pipes filled with sand for weight-lifting, according to Pix11, and were removed from the premises as a precaution.

Fire Marshals will continue to investigate the cause of the fire, per the NYPD.