Dozens Displaced After 5-Alarm Fire Destroys Bronx Supermarket
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Dozens of residents were displaced early Friday morning after a fire destroyed an adjacent supermarket in the Bronx.
The fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. at the Food Dynasty on Hunts Point Avenue and quickly went to five alarms as smoke spread to apartment buildings on both sides of the burning structure.
"We believe it started up in ceiling level in the middle of the store near some equipment in that area and quickly spread," said FDNY Chief Anthony Montera.
More than 200 firefighters responded to the scene to try to stop the fire from spreading further as nearby residents were evacuated as a precaution.
Firefighters Battle 5-Alarm Blaze At Bronx Supermarket
"I was sleeping and the smoke woke me up," said resident Aiden Garabito. "There was a lot."
One woman said she woke up to screams from her brother telling her to get her son out.
"My brother was like, 'Oh my God, there's a fire, there's a fire next door' and we just ran out of the building," neighbor Katherine Vasquez told CBS 2's Janelle Burrell. "We didn't grab anything, we just left."
Others rushed to get to out.
"It was scary, people were running out of the building," said resident Celia Denegas. "They were trying to save people."
"I was scared," another resident said. "I woke up to the sounds of fire trucks."
The supermarket appears to be a total loss. Vasquez said firefighters battling the flames also destroyed her apartment.
"We share the wall with the supermarket, so they had to break through our walls to get to the flames," she told 1010 WINS' Derricke Dennis. "So everything is lost."
A child in one of the apartments was treated for smoke inhalation. Two firefighters also suffered minor injuries.
The two adjacent buildings only had minor water damage and the residents who live there should be allowed back in their units later Friday. In the meantime, the Red Cross is offering them assistance.
The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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