Massive early-morning Bronx fire on E. Gun Hill Road rips through 11 stores

The four-alarm fire broke out at 11:50 p.m. on East Gun Hill Road near Givan Ave. in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx, inside a single-story building that houses both a storefront church and an insurance company.

By the time the FDNY arrived, the fast-moving blaze had already spread to several adjoining stores, officials said.

“When units opened up the store, they encountered fire in the cockloft that had spread across several adjoining stores,” said Deputy Assistant Chief Paul Miller.

The cockloft is the space between the ceiling and the roof usually shared by a row of stores within the same structure, officials said.

“We had 11 total stores affected,” Miller said.

Stores damaged included a bodega, a driving school and a salon, officials said.

More than 74 FDNY units and 230 firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics helped fight the blaze.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury fighting the blaze, Miller said. Nearly all of the stores were closed at the time of the blaze, so no civilians were hurt.

Firefighters unraveled six hose lines as they doused down the fire from multiple angles, Miller said.

“(We also) utilized a cockloft nozzle to knock down the fire and prevent it from spreading further,” he said.

As they fought the blaze, firefighters found two cars illegally parked in front of fire hydrants.

“They were served criminal court summonses for illegal parking,” he said.

The fire was snuffed out by about 2:30 a.m.

The fire damage was so severe that the city Department of Buildings was called in to determine the structural stability of the building, Miller said.

FDNY Fire Marshals have been tasked with determining what sparked the fire.

A year earlier a similar fast-moving blaze destroyed six Bronx stores near the corner of Jerome and Burnside Aves. in Morris Heights, FDNY officials said.