NY Times

The large, smoky fire, which officials said might have been caused intentionally, also forced New York City Transit to halt No. 4 trains running along Jerome Avenue for about 30 minutes. When they resumed, the trains bypassed the 170th Street station, officials said.

Sal Cassano, chief of operations for the New York City Fire Department, said the fire started at 7:55 a.m. and quickly went to six alarms. The flames and smoke rising from the burning building could be seen for miles, and more than 200 firefighters responded with about 50 pieces of equipment.

Residents of eight apartments in a six-story building behind the one that had the fire were evacuated, but none of them were injured, Mr. Cassano said. He said three firefighters were taken to Columbia Presbyterian with minor injuries.

The fire appeared to start at 1364 Jerome Ave., a one-story building with several businesses, including a nail salon, a bodega, a furniture store and a laundry. Mr. Cassano said it was the third fire in the same general location since August and said fire investigators "are calling it suspicious."

He said the fire marshal's bureau of investigations would look into the matter, but he would not say whether accelerants were found in the building.

Tony Huang of the Heights Real Estate Company in Manhattan, who owns the building, said he was surprised to hear about another fire in the building in such a short time.

"We don't have enemies at that location or any location," he said. "We don't have any explanation of why anybody would do such a thing."Water and smoke damaged some of the apartments, and from the subway platform, the charred insides of the businesses were visible. Large sections of the roof were completely burned away, revealing charred washers and dryers in the laundry and the stove of a Spanish restaurant, which was hosed down by firefighters. Yams from a green grocer were scattered along that stretch of Jerome Avenue.

By late morning, after the fire was brought under control, residents of the apartment building and shop owners milled about outside, some of them wrapped in white and red blankets provided by the Red Cross.

Several of them said they were nervous about the number of fires that have struck their immediate neighborhood in such a short time.

Donald Perry, 41, lived on the fifth floor of the apartment building, and said he was getting ready to go to a job interview at the Hunts Point Market when the fire broke out.

He is unemployed, and he said he never made it to his interview.

"This is the third fire," he said. "I don't know what's going on. I guess someone's trying to burn us out. Me and my family are going to try to get out of here. Next time we might not be that lucky."

Khy Heang Hor, the owner of Crystal 2000 Nails, said he had saved up money for several years to start his business, which opened in March 2001. He said the landlord of the building, Mr. Huang, came by on Monday to change the locks on the doors and told him the store's lease was up.

"He came by and said, 'Everybody out.' He changed the locks and said, 'That's it, no more lease, you're out,' " Mr. Hor said.

Mr. Hor said he still had all his equipment there and did not want to leave.

"It's a very good business," he said.

Others also said Mr. Huang had been trying to get them to leave.

Mr. Huang said that the first fire occurred on Aug. 1 on the Jerome Avenue side of the property in the early morning hours. The second fire happened between the laundry and a Chinese food restaurant in the building and burned the roof off that section of the property.

"In September they said that they were close to catching somebody," Mr. Huang said about the police and fire marshals.

"The funny thing about that location is that there is no landlord-tenant disputes and all of the tenants get along," he said.

"This is the million-dollar question: Why would someone be so stupid and comeback here where there is so much surveillance," he said about the fires.