Huge Fire Destroys 4 University Heights Shops, FDNY Says

By Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner on December 17, 2014 8:27am

More than 200 firefighters battled a fire in The Bronx Wednesday, officials said.

4 Shops Burned in Bronx Fire, FDNY Says

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — More than 200 firefighters battled a blaze that destroyed four University Avenue businesses Wednesday morning and sent a thick plume of smoke wafting over the neighborhood, FDNYspokesmen 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.

"These stores will have to be demolished and rebuilt," said Deputy Chief Joe Saccente.

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."

Most of the flames were extinguished as of 9 a.m., but smoke continued to billow into the sky and the FDNY planned to monitor it for another day in case the blaze flared up again, an FDNY spokesman said.

The large fire and threat of a collapse forced the FDNY to attack the flames from outside the building, Saccente said.

"Once you go to an exterior attack, you’re not in there opening accesses to get water on it. It takes a while to put out because you’re not really hitting the direct fire," the deputy chief said.

"The challenge is trying not to make it spread to too many more stores. The guys actually did a very good job by stopping it at the grocery store on the corner and on the restaurant on the other side," Saccente added.

Three firefighters were treated for minor injuries at North Central Bronx Hospital, officials said.

Students enrolled at schools inside nearby 1930 Andrews Ave. were relocated to area campuses, a Department of Education spokesman said. Their parents were notified.