Fire destroys decades of NYPD evidence

A fire has destroyed decades of evidence inside a New York City Police Department warehouse in Brooklyn.

NYPD officials are still determining what was lost in the fire Tuesday and the impact it will have on cold cases and verdicts being appealed, according to local outlet PIX 11.

The Erie Basin Auto Pound facility was used to store DNA evidence from crimes, as well as motorbikes and cars, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. 

A spokesperson for the nonprofit Legal Aid Society said: "We expect the NYPD and district attorneys to provide us a full accounting of the evidence that was damaged and to immediately inform defense counsel about individual cases that may have been impacted."

Investigators may not be able to enter the warehouse for days as firefighters are still extinguishing hot spots.

"We don’t know the severity of the damage inside," Maddrey said.