Red Hook fire: Man's smoldering body discovered in wreckage on ablaze boat near famous Brooklyn bar
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY: A smoldering body of a man was found in the wreckage on Saturday, April 27, when the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) responded to a boat fire near Red Hook, a popular bar in Brooklyn.
Flames were seen shooting out of a boat on a trailer when the FDNY and NYPD arrived at 253 Conover Street, between Beard and Reed Streets, in response to a report of a "dumpster fire" just before five in the morning.
Neighbor initially thought it was a dumpster fire
According to an NYPD spokesperson, shocked firefighters discovered the man's body inside the boat.
"I woke up just before 5 am and I kind of saw a flicker. I turned around and it was a full-on blaze in the lot. I immediately called 911," Sunny's owner, Tone Balzano Johansen, 58, who resides above the bar told Brooklyn News 12.
“I called it in. Honestly, I thought it was a dumpster fire. These days they have all these lithium batteries. My second thought was that it’s hazardous material. It was a powerful blaze,” Johansen added, according to the New York Post.
Johansen is a Norwegian artist and the widow of Sunny Balzone, who died on March 10, 2016, as the original owner of the storied Red Hook bar and a cherished raconteur. Hard-scrabble best-selling author and chef Bourdain's favorite place in the area is the rough-and-tumble gin mill.
Police are investigating the cause of the fire
An ambulance arrived at the scene, which struck her as odd. Johansen felt concerned when she discovered there was a dead body on board the "fiberglass" boat.
“It was a flashback to the old days of Red Hook. The Red Hook of yesteryear,” she noted. According to Johansen, the bar closed at 1:30 am. Her bartender closed up on Saturday, unlocked her bike, and she left for home an hour late.
“I’m a little suspicious. We don’t really have homeless people much in this neighborhood because it’s too far from the hustle and bustle of the city. I don’t think a homeless person would have curled up in a boat. I think it’s an inside job,” she added.
Police were seen investigating the damaged boat and surveying the area early on Saturday morning. Officials say that the FDNY fire marshal is investigating what caused the fire, and a medical examiner is looking into the cause of death.
