Fire Destroys Businesses Near Coney Island's Luna Park

A three-alarm fire tore through a commercial building near Coney Island's famed Luna Park Thursday evening, destroying at least two businesses, officials said. 

The FDNY says no injuries were reported in the blaze that started at about 8 p.m. near Mermaid Avenue and Stillwell. It took hours to get under control, with firefighters forced to fight the blaze from outside the building because the flames were so intense. 

"We went in to try to extinguish the fire, there was too much fire," said FDNY Deputy Asst. Chief Dan Donoghue. "We quickly pulled out and went to exterior operations." 

The fire destroyed a food mart, a Turkish restaurant and a vacant apartment inside the three-story building, just a block away from Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs. 

Witnesses said they saw the neon signs from the businesses explode as the fire spread.

"All of a sudden we saw the wires popping,'" said Jose Alicia. 

Firefighters are not letting anyone near the building until building inspectors determine it is stable. 

The warehouse is down the block from Luna Park, the famed amusement park featuring historic rides like the Cyclone. 

-- Michael George contributed to this report.

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