Hundreds of New York City firefighters spent hours battling a massive fire at a factory in Queens on Friday night and crews remain on the scene Saturday.
The FDNY said firefighters forced their way into the burning building on 130th Street between 20th and 22nd avenues in College Point after it started around 7:30 p.m.
No one was found inside, but the firefighters were forced to pull back due to the heavy flames.
“They went in, initially stretched a hose line in to extinguish the fire. The high volume of fire and the large amount of fuel limited their ability to put that fire out,” an FDNY official said at the scene.
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Crews were still dousing the building with water Saturday morning, but there were no more visible flames.
The building is home to a lumber yard and cabinetry business, and houses flammable materials. The surrounding area is mostly industrial, with car lots, warehouses and auto shops.
The FDNY advised people nearby to keep their windows closed to avoid smoke exposure.
The building was destroyed, but no one was injured, the FDNY said.
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Residents in the area told CBS News New York the building houses multiple businesses, including a flower shop and a lumber yard.
“I was, like, shocked … We never seen fire like this, big buildings like that,” one person said.
“That whole area, it’s just black smoke … It’s very dense. You know, what is it? It’s hard to breathe in that area,” another man said.
“This is one of the worst fires I’ve ever seen. This is really, it’s been going on for a long time,” another resident said.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
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