Fire at 550 E.180th Street in the Bronx, N.Y.

Heavy smoke, heavy fire, heavy loss….New York City

Smoke blanketed the streets surrounding 550 E.180th Street in the Bronx, N.Y., on the night of August 6, as firefighters battled a fifth alarm fire in a row of taxpayers.

At 10:08 pm, the FDNY is dispatched to the report of a fire, with multiple 911 calls, at 550 E.180th Street. First due Engine 88 reports he has fire in a one story brick taxpayer 150×175 and transmits a 10-75 for the working fire assignment. Battalion 19 special calls an additional engine and truck above the all hands. As
companies advance lines to the interior and initiate primary searches, fire is aggressively advancing and a second alarm is transmitted.

Conditions begin to deteriorate. With fire breaking through the roof and a partial roof collapse, the order to evacuate the building is issued. A third alarm is transmitted as companies go to a defensive exterior attack with two tower ladders and eight hand lines.

Con Edison Electric is notified to shut down utilities adjacent to and in close proximity of the fire building. A third tower ladder is put into operation.

Fourth and fifth alarms are ultimately transmitted for relief purposes, with several special calls above each. The fire is placed under control in just under three hours, with no serious injuries reported.

At least five businesses were destroyed by the blaze. An investigation is active to determine cause and origin.

Photos and story by

Ron Johnson – NJMFPA

See more photos at: www.photozonfire.com