A brutal two-alarm fire ravaged 1580 Edison Avenue in Pelham Bay in the very early hours of Easter Sunday.
The four-story property was engulfed in flame at 3:46 a.m. according to FDNY reports. New York’s Bravest responded with 25 units comprised of 106 rescue workers that finally brought the blaze under control at 5:28 a.m.
Firefighters broke all the windows on the property’s Middletown Road corner as neighbors from all over watched the rescue operation unfurl.
A 25-year-old probationary firefighter was the first on the line and given credit for dousing the flames for good.
One civilian suffered life-threatening injuries, while three others suffered minor ones as result of the fire.
Three FDNY members also suffered minor injuries. Each was transported to Jacobi Medical Center, according to the FDNY.
One child was rescued from the building’s top floor, according to neighbors, as they watched helplessly from the street below.
Residents of the building said that some of their pets were trapped inside their apartments during the fire and perished.
Part of the ground floor was occupied by a corner grocery store where early reports indicate the fire started. The store, which normally operated behind a boarded up storefront, was completely destroyed of the blaze.
Shawn Moshun has owned the deli since 1999.
He was standing outside his store in the rain on Monday, April 22, trying to collect whatever was salvageable from his wrecked business.
“The whole place is completely gone,” Moshun said. “The FDNY entered through the deli to get into the building and much of the store was damaged,” he continued.
Although Moshun didn’t live in the walk-up, he lived near enough to rush over when he got word of the fire.
“Right now I don’t know about reopening, there’s so much to figure out and I’d have to start over essentially,” Moshun said. “I am happy the fire wasn’t any worse than it was,” he said.
Other residents were entering and exiting the building in an attempt to gather what intact possessions they could from their homes on Monday afternoon as well.
Two FDNY trucks visited the property on Tuesday, April 23 to survey the damages.
The FDNY is investigating the cause of the fire.
