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(Corona-WABC, August 7, 2007) - A fifth-alarm fire tore through a row of stores in the Corona section of Queens Tuesday morning, injuring a dozen firefighters.
This fire really took its toll on the FDNY, shut down a busy block in Corona and took out three businesses.
Newscopter Seven was live over the scene.
The blaze apparently broke out near a Duane Reade drug store at 3730 Junction Boulevard just before 4 a.m. It quickly spread to two additional clothing stores.
The owner of a store right next door was left to wonder what would become of his business.
"It's going back to school time, and we have to pay the bills, so we're concerned," the owner of City Jeans said. "But what can you do, it's already happened."
Five nearby residential buildings were temporarily evacuated while firefighters battled the blaze.
"They banged on everybody's doors and told us to get out," one resident said. "As soon as we had walked out the flames were like sky high."
A dozen firefighters were treated for minor injuries. No residents were hurt.
Part of the problem is firefighters were headed to another blaze when they spotted the heavy flames shooting through the roof of the stores.
"We had a lot of fire on arrival, the fire was through the roof when we got here," Chief Patrick McNally said. "One of the units was on their way to another emergency when they noticed the fire. It had good start before we got here. We had a collapse in one area so we had to pull firefighters off the roof and out of the building."
The Duane Reade where the fire happened has been destroyed.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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