By Bill Carey
FireRescue1
NEW YORK — A fire swept through a Bronx business strip, injuring at least three firefighters. The four-alarm blaze started on Third Avenue, affecting several stores.
Fireground video captured the moment firefighters had to break the windows of a vehicle blocking a fire hydrant, to connect a supply line.
“We are lucky this happened so early in the morning; the heat and humidity hadn’t really kicked in yet,” FDNY Division Chief Mark Bonilla said. “We rotate the members out due to extreme conditions to make sure everybody’s hydrated and doing well while operating in these types of environments.”
The fire destroyed several Melrose neighborhood businesses, including a Chinese restaurant, smoke shop, furniture store, electronics store and a Dunkin’ Donuts, NBC New York reported.
“These are some of the things that our members go through while battling these types of fires. We have three injured firefighters. Minor injuries, they were treated and will be transported to area hospitals,” Bonilla told ABC7.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.