Fire marshal officials determined that the smoky fire that destroyed the campaign headquarters of City Council Candidate Alicka Amrprey-Samuel, at 47 Belmont Street in Brownsville, was accidental.
According to the report, accidental electrical wiring in the thrift store next door caused the blaze on June 18. The two-alarm fire caused extensive damage and one minor injury.
The smoky blaze was called in at 9 p.m., last Sunday and brought under control at about 9:50 p.m., according to a FDNY spokesperson. At the time of the blaze Ampry-Samuel was away from the office celebrating Father’s Day with family and friends when she initially received notice that her campaign office was on fire.
However, the 41st City Council District candidate has not let the fire get the best of her or her bid for term-limited City Councilwoman Darlene Mealy’s seat.
“Growing up in the struggle, nothing has ever come easy for me or those that look like me. So, while running for public office, I didn’t expect this race to an easy one. Like so many others that face challenges, the fire was quite the challenge but we will continue to rise,” said Ampry-Samuel.
Ampry-Samuel went on to note that she has hopes that the office can be rebuilt but in the meantime has moved the operations of her campaign to the streets, “not missing a beat.”
The FDNY from the beginning stressed that the fire was not arson.
“The fire marshals are very good at putting the pieces of the puzzle together to determine the cause of the fire, but aside of the location, there is nothing to consider this a suspicious fire,” the spokesperson said.
Ampry-Samuel is considered one of the frontrunners in the 41st District City Council Race. The district includes Brownsville, and parts of East Flatbush, Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant.
There are currently at least six candidates trying to get on the Democratic Primary ballot, and who have been busy gathering the 450 signatures needed to do so by the July 13 deadline.
“In no way has this put a damper on our campaign–it gave me even more drive to continue my run for NYC Council,” said Ampry-Samuel.
