Brentwood residents escape basement fire, officials say

Several people escaped from a fire in the basement of a Brentwood home Wednesday morning, officials said.

The fire in the house on Bushwick Avenue near Fulton Street was reported about 1 a.m., Suffolk County police said.

There were no reported injuries. The fire badly damaged the entire structure, officials said.

Fire officials at the scene told News 12 Long Island that 14 to 17 people in three families lived in the house: one family in the basement and one family on each of the two upper floors.

“It started in the basement where there was only one entrance and exit and no egress windows,” East Brentwood Fire Chief Erik Vasquez told News 12. “It could have been very dangerous. It could have cost people their lives.”

Suffolk County police said arson detectives were investigating the cause of the fire, but it did not appear to involve criminality.