As first reported earlier this morning, Monday, June 28, at least 11 firefighters were injured and several stores were damaged or destroyed after a fire ripped through a row of businesses along West Burnside Avenue in Morris Heights on Sunday, June 28.

 

According to Fire Department officials, the blaze broke out inside S&M Furniture and Electronics, located at 34 West Burnside Avenue, at 2:59 p.m. inside the one-story commercial building. The severity of the fire caused it to be categorized subsequently as a four-alarm incident, requiring further FDNY reinforcements, as it extended to several adjacent structures. The fire was brought under control after 5:30 p.m.

Over 200 fire department and EMS units were on the scene, including 106 firefighters from 25 individual units. Besides the fire, members also battled high temperatures on the day which hovered at 90 degrees at one point, with high humidity.

 

Assistant Chief Joseph Jardin briefed reporters with a statement that was later posted to Instagram. Jardin stated, “Units arrived within 3 minutes to discover a significant volume of fire, inside the furniture-electronics store.”

Jardin continued, “They ended up discovering fire there, in both the cellar and the first floor. It was a labor-intensive, time consuming operation that was further challenged by the prevailing weather conditions. Our troops had to engage in extensive opening up of walls and ceilings, eventually stretching five hand-lines to fully extinguish the fire.”

 

Unable to give an exact number of firefighters who were removed to area hospitals, Jardin estimated that “two or three” were taken to hospital while additional injured members were treated at the scene and released.

Jardin added, “So this is among one of the tougher days we have, with the combination we have of heat and humidity. The work that our firefighters do is very labor-intensive on a cool day, let alone add the significant heat and humidity, and the fact that they’re totally encapsulated with fairly heavy bunker gear intended to keep heat away, but it has the consequence of keeping heat in.”

 

Destroyed in the blaze was S&M Furniture and Electronics, the site where the fire is believed to have started and one of the many stores that was looted during a night of looting along West Burnside Avenue on June 1, 2020.

 

The fire also destroyed or damaged a Dunkin Donuts outlet located at 26 West Burnside Avenue, a Fish Market at 28 West Burnside Avenue, Perfect Brows beauty shop at 30 West Burnside Avenue, Nylon clothing store at 32 West Burnside Avenue and Bliss O Beauty clothing shop at 38 West Burnside Avenue.

The fire was stopped before spreading to the next structure on the street, a two-story building that houses a Bingo Hall and the Food Dynasty supermarket upon which the local community depends.

 

The Bureau of Fire Investigations is investigating and will determine the fire’s cause and origin.

 

The incident was one of four reported fires to have occurred in the Northwest Bronx over the course of the weekend.