VIDEO: A destructive four-alarm fire left a row of Queens businesses badly damaged and two firefighters with serious injuries by the time officials got the blaze under control.
The commercial fire started on Springfield Boulevard in Queens Village early Saturday morning, prompting the response of dozens and then eventually hundreds of firefighters.
FDNY Assistant Chief of Department Joseph Jardin said investigators believe the fire started around 2 a.m. in the center structure of three commercial businesses. The fire had quickly moved into the roof of the structure and extended to the cockloft, the space in the building between the ceiling and the underside of the roof level, causing the fire to easily spread between the businesses.
"They were operating about ten foot inside the rear of the building when a portion of the root collapsed, trapping two of our members initially," Jardin said.
One of the firefighters was briefly trapped under a 20x20 foot section of roof, he said.