204th Street Fire Update

This morning, around 11 a.m. at the site of the 204th Street fire, a cluster of firefighters were still drowning the smoking buildings with pounds upon pounds of water. The fire started around 4:30 in the morning, and although all of the flames were put out by sunrise, the water will not stop flowing for the rest of the day.

"Usually a fire like this [has] a wash for 24 hours," said one firefighter at the scene of the fire. This particular firefighter arrived at the scene of the fire from Manhattan around 10:45 and said firefighters from across the city were constantly "changing shifts" throughout the morning.

Multiple NYPD officers were also present at the scene of the fire for "crowd control and public safety," according to one officer.

One of the multiple businesses affected by the fire was Foodtown, a local chain supermarket. A supervisor from Foodtown said, "I'm sure we'll relocate [the employees] to other stores for now." In regards to the future of the store, the supervisor was positive that the Foodtown management would rebuild the store at the site of the fire since it was their first store.

Local residents crowded on the streets to watch the firefighters douse the 204th Street stores with water. "I was completely surprised [by the fire]," said Edward Bryant, a Norwood resident who lives on Decatur Avenue. "Where are we supposed to shop? The closest supermarket is a bus ride away in Bedford Park."