The fire was on both floors of the Pamela Deli Grocery on East 163rd Street.
Two firefighters were injured with burns and smoke inhalation. They are in stable condtion at Cornell.
By nightfall they were cleaning up and the investigation into what started the fire was well underway.
Earlier Thursday, with firefighters just a few feet away on the roof, the fire on Trinton Avenue flared up around 3:30 p.m., and steam and acrid black smoke rose together above Pamela's Deli. Neighbors couldn't believe it was gone.
It was a persistent and voracious blaze, that left two firefighters with burns, and plenty more struggling in brutal weather to save what was left of the building.
The fire spread quickly, but no one lives in the apartments upstairs, they were being renovated.
So when the workers in the deli got out, the rest was just property damage, and there was plenty of that.
Still, the store, a total loss, will be missed in the neighborhood.
Fire was placed under control at 6:17 p.m.
There was a mayday transmitted after a firefighter was briefly seperated from the others as the fire spread, but he was found quickly and is OK.
