by SAMUEL GOLDSMITH
A five-alarm blaze ripped through a Duane Reade drugstore and two nearby businesses along a busy Queens commercial strip yesterday, injuring more than a dozen firefighters and routing residents in five nearby buildings.
The blaze at Junction Boulevard between 37th and 38th avenues erupted at 3:45 a.m. and was under control at 8:05 a.m., but left the drug store, a leather store and a clothing boutique in smoky ruins. The basements of seven connected businesses were flooded.
The owner of the Top Gun leather shop, Ayal Hod, said tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise was destroyed.
"I had no idea about the level of devastation," he said after viewing the debris. "It's all about rebuilding now."
An FDNY spokeswoman said 14 firefighters were taken to hospitals for minor injuries, and seven others either refused medical treatment or were treated at the scene.
The cause of the blaze, which began in the Duane Reade, was under investigation.
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