A man holds a pigeon during the British Homing World show of the year at Blackpool's Winter Gardens in Blackpool, north west England on January 17, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Yates - RTX22QFV

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of homing pigeons kept atop a Brooklyn rowhouse were among the victims of a fire this week that displaced more than 20 families in the New York borough, fire officials and local media said on Thursday.

The pigeons, prized for their long-distance racing skills, died in a Tuesday night fire that burned at least five row houses in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. About 200 emergency personnel responded to the six-alarm blaze, according to the Fire Department of New York.

The birds lived in coops on the roof of one of the damaged buildings, said Abby Hoke, 29, a neighbor who lives in a nearby building that suffered minor smoke damage.

“By the time I walked outside it was fully involved in flames. You could just hear this squealing noise. That just added to the heart-wrenching of all of this,” said Hoke, who is raising money for a displaced elderly neighbor.

Raising homing pigeons, which have an innate ability to return to their nests, was once a popular pastime in New York City, where enthusiasts would set up coops, known as “lofts,” on tenement rooftops and participate in races with other bird fanciers. Some people who keep the birds simply enjoy releasing them and watching them return.

Pigeon-keeping still has a big following. The American Racing Pigeon Union has nearly 10,000 members who breed and race the birds, it said.

The owner of the birds that perished in Brooklyn, identified by local media as Gil Areiliares, told the New York Post he had maintained the coop for more than 20 years. At least 500 birds perished in the blaze, the paper said.

Areiliares could not be reached for comment.