Fire marshals are investigating what sparked a massive five-alarm fire at a Queens lumberyard on Friday night.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Fire marshals are investigating what sparked a massive five-alarm fire at a Queens lumberyard on Friday night.
No injuries were reported as a result of the inferno that broke out at about 7:30 p.m. on April 10 near the corner of 130-17 23rd Ave., near 130th Street.
The first arriving units — Engine Company 297, Ladder Company 130 and Battalion 30 — initially came to investigate an odor of smoke emanating from the location.
No injuries were reported as a result of the inferno that broke out at about 7:30 p.m. on April 10 near the corner of 130-17 23rd Ave., near 130th Street.Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The building was closed at the time, according to Assistant Chief Paul Miano, and firefighters made a forced entry into the building, which was found to contain a large amount of lumber.
“When they went inside the interior lumberyard … and began a search, they found a large volume of fire on the second floor,” Miano said.
Within an hour, the fire grew to a five-alarm event, fueled by the large amount of wood inside the building. More than 270 firefighters and EMS personnel from 84 units converged upon the scene.
Because of the fire’s enormous growth, the chief said, firefighters were pulled from the building, and the Fire Department moved to battle the blaze from outside. At one point, eight tower ladders were working on the scene, pouring water on the fire from hoses stretched out on ladders outside the building.
Within an hour, the fire grew to a five-alarm event, fueled by the large amount of wood inside the building. More than 270 firefighters and EMS personnel from 84 units converged upon the scene. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Firefighting operations were still ongoing at the site as of 8:45 a.m. Saturday morning, the Fire Department reported that firefighters succeeded in preventing the blaze from extending to other buildings.
“For us, even though we lost a building, it was an incredibly successful operation at the end of the day,” the chief said. “We limited the spread to one building and didn’t allow it to go anywhere else.”