FDNY investigating Bensonhurst blaze
Fire Department officials are investigating to determine the cause of a three-alarm fire that ripped through a commercial building in Bensonhurst on Sunday morning, sending flames and smoke shooting into the air and disrupting local subway service.
FDNY Chief of Department James Leonard told the New York Daily News that the three-alarm fire at 8501 New Utrecht Ave. appeared to be suspicious. “We had very heavy fire on arrival in an unoccupied building, which that by itself needs to be investigated,” the Daily News quoted Leonard as saying.
The fire erupted at around 7:11 a.m., according to officials, who said more than 130 firefighters were at the scene working to bring the inferno under control. The building’s roof collapsed and bricks from the structure’s facade came tumbling down, hitting the sidewalk, officials said.