Extreme cold complicated the efforts of Bronx firefighters in battling a three-alarm fire at an auto body shop on Sunday morning.
Fire Department sources said the blaze ignited at about 10:25 a.m. on Jan. 16 inside the I&S Auto Body shop at 4410 Park Ave. in Belmont.
The first units on the scene observed heavy fire inside the rear of the two-story building, as well as heavy smoke coming from inside. The smoke-eaters got to work right away, but according to FDNY Battalion Chief Jeffrey Facinelli, their efforts were hindered a bit by frozen hydrants.
“We had several frozen hydrants which was an obstacle that we had to overcome in order to extinguish this fire. This fire quickly escalated to a 3-alarm,” he said. “There were a lot of hazards in this building which our Firefighters had to navigate around including cars on lifts and gasoline, thankfully there are no injuries to firefighters.”
More than 150 firefighters responded to the blaze. They used four hose lines to knock down the fire within an hour.
No injuries were reported to civilians. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, Fire Department sources said.
