A massive plume of smoke could be seen rising from the 6-alarm fire on Lee Avenue in Williamsburg on Sunday afternoon. Firefighters arrived at the scene four minutes after the initial call just before noon Sunday.
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Raw videos of the 6-alarm fire in Williamsburg
Officials say the flames appeared to start in a chocolate shop and spread to at least nine nearby retail stores.
David Goldstein inherited the building from his father - it's been in his family since the 1960s.
Now, as the landlord for nine longtime small businesses, he wonders what's next.
"Yeah, they're all here - most of them took it like, what can you do? We'll make the best of it we'll work together," Goldstein said
A toy store and the kebab grill were among the places destroyed in a hub of commerce for Williamsburg's Hasidic community.
"You have neighborhood businesses that employ people in the community -- it's tragic," said Lincoln Restler.
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Firefighting efforts were complicated because most of the stores were locked at the time.
"We used saws to cut the gates and we were able to get in. They had heavy fire throughout the building by the time they got inside. It was a challenging fire," FDNY Chief John Hodgens said.
Authorities said 10 FDNY members sustained injuries. Fortunately, none of those injuries were life-threatening.
The fire was under control by 3:45 p.m. Sunday.
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The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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AS FIRE MARSHALS INSPECTED THE RUINS.. UTILITY CREWS TURNED OFF THE GAS.... AND A BUILDINGS INSPECTOR OFFICIALLY CONDEMNED THE BUILDING.
AS IF... THERE WAS ANYTHING... LEFT.