Three firefighters were hurt and a strip mall was destroyed when a five-alarm blaze ripped through the building in the Bronx Wednesday morning, fire officials say.
The blaze broke out in a 99 cent store on University Avenue in University Heights at about 5:30 a.m., according to the FDNY. The blaze quickly spread through the rest of the shopping center, torching a pizzeria, a grocery store, and a laundromat.
The building, which also contains several other businesses, will have to be demolished, firefighters say.
About 140 firefighters worked into the morning dousing the flames. Three firefighters sustained minor injuries.
The blaze caused classes to be delayed at P.S. 396, which is nearby. Students at the school, along with those at M.S. 390 and P10X, were later relocated to P.S. 226, the city says.
The fire caused very smoky conditions throughout the area, which is near Bronx Community College.
A representative with the community college’s public safety office said that the smoke has not spread to the school’s campus and none of its buildings have been impacted.
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It's not clear what caused the blaze.
