A fire that destroyed a small outhouse office for a parking garage in Bedford Park as well as a truck parked next to it remains under investigation according to the FDNY, while one car owner alleges 40-mile-per-hour winds brought down a powerline in the area, sparking the fire.

 

Fire officials were called to 2 J’s Parking Lot, located at 2768 Webster Avenue, between East 198th Street and Oliver Place at 7.52 p.m. on Monday, March 13, for a reported “shed / trailer fire” in the back of the lot. The “all-hands” fire brought 12 fire units, comprising 60 firefighters to the scene, and the blaze was brought under control after 36 minutes, with no reported injuries, according to the FDNY.

 

The following day, a dozen car owners were seen surveying the damage and attempting to retrieve their cars, some standing in front of the business and some inside the lot.

 

A woman who seemed to be in charge at the lot was seen asking people to wait while she walked one couple to their vehicle. We attempted, unsuccessfully, to speak to her or arrange a later time to talk about the incident.

 

One man who was apparently trying to get the family car back handed us his cellphone as he tried to liaise with someone in charge. A frantic, unidentified woman on the other end of the line told us, “At the parking lot they had a fire there and burnt all my things.”

 

Another woman alleges she had to wait nearly 3 hours to reclaim her property and was still waiting when we spoke to her. Asked about the cause of the fire, a male customer pointed to the power lines, and said, “They got loose. There was a lot of wind and they sparked, yeah. It was pretty windy last night.”

 

On Monday, March 20, Norwood News contacted the owner of the damaged truck belonging to MJB Tek, Incorporated, a company that repairs H-VACs and other industrial machinery. It’s owner, Melvin Bonilla, recalled, “That office that you see next to the truck, it caught on fire overnight.” He added that the fire broke out after the vehicle was parked in the lot after 6.30 p.m. on March 13.

 

Bonilla continued, “So they just told me, ‘I’ve got bad news for you.’ I said, ‘What happened?’ They said the office caught on fire and my truck that was parked next to it.”

Bonilla added, “What the fire didn’t damage, when the fire department came to control the fire, all the water damaged a whole bunch of parts, a whole bunch of stuff inside the truck,” he said, before adding, “At least no one was hurt.” Asked if the owner had explained to him the cause of the fire, he replied, “Electrical.”

 

Possibly explaining the angry faces seen at the yard the day after the fire, Bonilla said, “There were over 200 keys destroyed.” He said this had left many drivers unable to drive away or turn off their car alarms, causing a further dilemma. He added, “The only thing that didn’t melt was the little key section.”

 

Both the landline and cellphone numbers listed for 2 J’s Parking Lot were not in service when Norwood News initially attempted to reach the owner by phone for comment. We tried both numbers again at a later point and the landline appeared to work so we left a message. The cellphone was still not working.