By SÍLE MOLONEY

 

FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO a commercial fire at 1234 East Gunhill Road in the Laconia section of the East Bronx on Friday, March 6, 2026. Video 1 Video by Síle Moloney

There was one injury reported by the FDNY/EMS after a  4-alarm commercial fire broke out along a commercial block in the Laconia section of the East Bronx on Thursday night, March 5.

 

The fire department said they received a call at 11.53 p.m. on Thursday for a report of a fire in a store at 1234 East Gunhill Road located between Pearsall Avenue and Throop Avenue.

FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO a commercial fire at 1234 East Gunhill Road in the Laconia section of The Bronx on Friday, March 6, 2026. Video 2 Video by Síle Moloney

They said the fire was in the cockloft (typically an uninhabited and often inaccessible void space located between the top-floor ceiling and the roof of a building) of a row of stores on East Gunhill Road.

They said a second alarm was raised at 00.08 a.m. on Friday morning, March 6, a third alarm at 00.16 a.m. and a fourth alarm at 00.24 a.m. They said 74 units, comprising 231 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the scene.

 

The fire broke out on a rainy day and firefighters were seen tackling the blaze both from the roof and from the ground. They appeared to be drilling / welding something inside one of the stores at one point based on sounds emanating through the night air.

 

We spoke to a male resident for his reaction. “I hope everyone’s ok; it’s crazy!” Joseph said. Asked if he was a frequent customer at the row of stores, he said, “Yeah, I come here sometimes. It’s convenient. It’s unfortunate that this happened.” When we mentioned the scale of the response as the fire units were taking up a few blocks, he said, “Yeah, kinda lucky as it’s been raining a little bit.”

FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO a commercial fire at 1234 East Gunhill Road in the Laconia section of the East Bronx on Friday, March 6, 2026. Video 3 Video by Síle Moloney

At 1.31 a.m., we asked another male resident, Tavaun, who was exiting a nearby McDonalds if he usually frequented the impacted stores and he said, “Yeah, all the time.” He said he hadn’t seen the fire burning as he’s been inside, adding, “They’ve been here for over an hour and 30 minutes now, maybe two hours.”

 

They said one firefighter incurred minor injuries and was transported to an area hospital and the fire marshals have been notified and will determine the cause of the blaze, which the FDNY said was brough under control at 2:23 a.m. More to follow.

FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO a commercial fire at 1234 East Gunhill Road in the Laconia section of the East Bronx on Friday, March 6, 2026.   
Photo by Síle Moloney

The office for Bronx Rises Against Gun  Violence (B.R.A.G.) is located a few blocks from where the fire broke out, at the junction of Boston Road and East Gun Hill Road, and the Office of Council Member Kevin Riley (C.D. 12) is located about 6 blocks away by East Gunhill Road and Colden Avenue.

 

On Monday, March 2, the councilman had joined other Bronx elected officials, including Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Congressman George Latimer (NY-16), State Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D. 36), and Assemblyman Michael Benedetto (A.D. 82), in issuing a statement following a fire that broke out at Co-op City, saying in part, “We are monitoring this morning’s two-alarm fire at 100 Asch Loop in Co-op City. Thank you to FDNY, NYPD, first responders, and the Red Cross for supporting residents. Our offices stand ready to assist.”

 

Click here to read FDNY’s fire safety tips. “During a fire, always close the door behind you!” fire officials say. “It helps contain smoke and flames, giving you precious time to escape.”