Fire Sweeps Through Building Across From Coney Island Subway Terminal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An extra-alarm fire broke out Thursday evening in a commercial building in Coney Island, Brooklyn – right across from the busy elevated subway terminal.
The fire broke out around 8 p.m. in the building at 2900 Stillwell Ave., the FDNY told CBS2. The blaze was raised to three alarms and a total of 140 firefighters responded to the scene, the FDNY said.
The three-story building houses a deli on the ground floor, the FDNY said. Apartments that were believed to be vacant were located above the store, 1010 WINS reported.
There were reports of partial collapse of a wall.
A photo tweeted from the scene by user Nuraim showed the building engulfed in large flames.
A witness, Matthew Jay, later took an Instagram video of showing smoke rising from the windows of the building. The sign for the Remas Food Center on the ground floor was burned and melted.
Damage was also seen in photos at the neighboring Bykush Café, at 2904 Stillwell Ave.
The building is right across the street from the busy Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue elevated subway terminal, which serves the D, F, N and Q trains. D Train service was disrupted due to the fire and delayed for sometime afterward, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The building is also about a block from the Coney Island amusement parks.
The fire was brought under control around 10:30 p.m. No injuries were reported.
The Coney Island, Brooklyn blaze was the second extra-alarm fire in New York City in the late-day hours Thursday alone. Around 4:30 p.m., a five-alarm fire broke out in a residential building at 103-45 97th St. in Queens, near Liberty Avenue.
The Queens building was a large, four-story complex, CBS2's Joe Biermann reported. The fire ran along the attic over several apartments.
As CBS2's Matt Kozar reported, firefighters had been to the building just hours before on a call about a smoke issue.
Sources said that firefighters did not see smoke upon arrival, but deenergized the electrical box and recommended an electrician be called to the apartment.
An estimated 24 households were displaced by the Queens blaze. The American Red Cross was dispatched to provide temporary housing, emergency funds for food and clothing, and physical health support.
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