12 firefighters injured at NY wholesale market fire
Nearly 200 firefighters responded to the four-alarm fire Wednesday, which Hunts Point said was a small blaze confined to an area controlled by one vendor.
Firefighters confronted intense flames and smoke and had to cut their way through some of the walls to gain access.
"Forcing entry into this was obviously not very typical," said FDNY Chief James Daly. "You had to roll down metal security gates, and behind those gates were built permanent walls. There was a lot of cutting and a lot of pulling."
Twelve firefighters were injured and transported to area hospitals. Only one was said to have serious respiratory complications.
The vendor's operations were expected to continue normally, Hunts Point said. The rest of the market was not affected by the fire.
The fire was reported around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday and went to a fourth alarm around 12:40 p.m. because of the highly flammable contents of the building, including cardboard and wooden crates of produce.
Hunts Point stretches across 113 acres of property, with produce arriving by plane, boat and truck from nearly every state and 55 countries.
Source: nbcnewyork.com