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It took around 150 firefighters over four hours to bring a massive fire that tore through a Duane Reade store in the Corona neighborhood of Queens under control Tuesday morning.
The five-alarm blaze broke out around 3:45 a.m. at the drugstore at Junction Boulevard and 37th Avenue, then spread to at least two nearby buildings.
Five residential buildings were evacuated. Firefighters brought the blaze under control shortly after 8 a.m.
At least a dozen firefighters sustained minor injuries. Eight of them were hospitalized. No one else was hurt, but those evacuated are expected to be able to return home later this afternoon.
"The fire was right next to my room. I just like – it woke me up, and then all of a sudden I heard the door slamming,†said evacuee Chris Shotwell. “You know, it was the fire department just slamming on my door. I had to evacuate, and we've just been waiting out here for the whole morning."
"We all ran out half-clothed and then it just kept going; it spread everywhere,†said another. “We've been out since four in the morning."
"Everybody left, and it was a big explosion,†added a third. “So we had to wait for everyone to come out, and they told us to come over here."
The pharmacy sustained serious damages as did a neighboring clothing shop.
“There's really not much you can do so you just have to live through it and just hope for the good," said the owner of the clothing store.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The blaze was near the elevated tracks for the Number 7 train, but subway service was not affected. However, the Q72 bus was re-routed.
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