Raging Fires In Brooklyn Injure 32

Fire raging through two vacant buildings that were once part of the city’s largest hotel reached nearby apartments early Saturday, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate.

Thirty-two people suffered minor injuries in the Brooklyn blaze, said Michael Candelaria, a fire department spokesman. Most were firefighters treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion.

The 3:30 a.m. fire started in a nine-story vacant building and spread to a second. Both were part of the former St. George Hotel, one of the city’s finest and biggest pre-World War II hotels with 2,632 rooms.