A fire broke out at the Erie Basin Auto Pound on Columbia Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn on December 13, 2022, destroying an untold amount of biological evidence linked to New York City crimes dating back up to 30 years, along with impounded cars, e-bikes, and historic vehicles, according to ABC7 New York and Bloomberg. A second fire struck the same lot less than two years later, with NYPD declining to answer questions about whether fire suppression equipment had been installed after the first blaze.
Operator takeaway
Thirty years of evidence destroyed in one fire at an impound lot with no apparent fire suppression system — if your yard stores vehicles for law enforcement, your fire prevention protocol protects both your business and active criminal cases.