Fire Erupts at an N.Y.P.D. Evidence Center in Brooklyn

Large plumes of white smoke were visible across the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn on Tuesday morning as a three-alarm fire at the Police Department’s Erie Basin Auto Pound burned for several hours.

The fire was called into the Fire Department around 10:30 a.m., according to officials. Emergency vehicles, including three helicopters and 33 fire units, were working to contain the flames early Tuesday afternoon. About 140 firefighters were at the scene, according to the department.

The auto pound is one of two operated by the Police Department — another is in Springfield Gardens, Queens — and houses vehicles that have been seized as part of investigations,as well as thousands of barrels of DNA material.

Officials with the Police and Fire Departments would not confirm which warehouse at the auto pound the fire had affected and did not have any information about damages.

But a law enforcement official who was not authorized to speak publicly said the fire could potentially be disastrous.

In 2012, when Hurricane Sandy tore through the city, two warehouses on the compound were inundated, damaging hundreds of barrels of evidence and affecting a number of ongoing cases.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Jonah E. Bromwich and Nate Schweber contributed reporting.