Huge Fire Burns 4 Bronx, NY Shops
December 17, 2014 8:27am
4 Shops Burned in
Bronx Fire, FDNY Says
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS —
Nearly 170 firefighters battled a blaze that engulfed four University Avenue
businesses Wednesday morning — sending a thick plume of smoke wafting over the
neighborhood, FDNY spokesmen said.
The flames erupted
inside a 99-cent store at 1959 University Ave., near West 179th Street, about
5:30 a.m., an FDNY spokesman said.
It then spread to
other stores on the commercial strip including a pizzeria, a grocery store and
a laundromat, sending flames shooting out of the stores, officials said.
Firefighters were on
the scene within three minutes of being called, an FDNY spokesman said.
"They started
breaking down the store gates with their axes," said Yudelfi Martinez, 22,
who was passing by when the fire started.
"Fire started
shooting out from the stores. There were flames everywhere. They were bright
orange and smoke was coming up. They had the hoses out and were running all
over."
A thick cloud of
smoke could be seen from blocks away and made it difficult to breathe near the
shops.
No injuries were
immediately reported, officials said.
