Giant Boxes Of Wigs Cause Woes In Rockland County Blaze
MONSEY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Boxes of wigs that were stacked close to 10 feet high inside an apartment building in Monsey put firefighters in a very dangerous situation Monday.
According to Rockland County fire coordinator Gordon Wren, firefighters had to form an assembly line to remove boxes that were blocking doors and and hallways as a fire raged in a three-story apartment building at 18 Calvert Drive, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported.
"This very large basement was actually being used as a commercial warehouse, with large amounts of cardboard boxes literally stacked from floor to ceiling," Wren said.
Wren says the incident highlights an ongoing problem.
"There are multiple violations and again it's just another example of the horrible lack of code enforcement for the town of Ramapo," Wren said.
Ramapo's building inspector ordered the building to be vacated. According to officials, 25 people were displaced, but no injuries were reported.
Officials say the owner of the building was using the basement as storage space for his wig business in Brooklyn.
Commercial storage in a residential building is illegal, and the owner is expected to face multiple violations.