SUNSET PARK (WPIX)—
A man was found dead following a three-alarm house fire in Brooklyn early Tuesday morning.Fire officials say the blaze began at about 1:20 a.m. on the third floor of an attached house at 322 56th Street in Sunset Park. The flames spread to neighboring homes.
After the fire was extinguished, firefighters found a Hispanic man in his 30s in the backyard of the house. EMS declared him dead at the scene.
A medical examiner will determine the man's cause of death.
Residents told PIX News that the house is abandoned, and they have complained to the police about several people going in and out of the home for at least two years.
They suspect the fire was caused by squatters.
"This building has been abandoned for a very long time and they have come in, making it their home," one resident told PIX News.
Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Several families in neighboring houses are displaced due to the fire. Some were allowed back into their homes to retrieve personal belongings.
The investigation is ongoing.
