Fire damages several businesses in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- Firefighters responded to a large fire in the Bronx early Tuesday morning.
The blaze impacted a row of stores on the 3000 block of Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood.
Chopper 2 flew over the scene.
Flames and smoke shot from the roof of a commercial strip, engulfing seven mom-and-pop businesses and the livelihoods of their distraught owners.
"This is the only source of income for me, so I don't know how to survive now," said Mohammad Alam of Curry and Kebab.
For the past six years, Alam has been putting in 12 hour days to keep the store afloat. He said the pandemic took such a toll on his businesses, he couldn't afford fire insurance, and now he doesn't know if he can rebuild.
"God knows why this happened here. I have to be strong," Alam said.
Firefighters responded to the row of stores just before 4 a.m. But by the time they arrived, there was little they could do.
"The fire had already gotten into the cockloft at that point. Units made an effort to get in and knock the fire down, but it was too far advanced at that point. We had to back out," FDNY Deputy Chief Paul Miller said.
Several grocery stores were destroyed, along with a fish market and a bakery.
The only silver lining is the fact no one was inside.
"I was hoping it would be a false alarm, but ... it is what it is. Thank God it happened in the night time," said Lena Elezovic of Bainbridge Bakery.
Neighbors said it was not the first time a disaster like this struck the block.
On Halloween 2009, a similar fire broke out. Hillside Meat Market was spared that time, but not Tuesday.
"This was everywhere, the whole block," said Sal Mirra, of Hillside Meat Market.
"Same exact fire, same stores. So all these stores regrouped, came back and look what happened again," neighbor Christopher Hoffman said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The FDNY says a few firefighters suffered minor injuries, but all are expected to recover.
