Massive fire in Brooklyn heavily damages industrial building in Sunset Park

An industrial building in Brooklyn was destroyed in a five-alarm fire Wednesday.

The FDNY said they got reports of the blaze just after midnight on 53rd Street and First Avenue in Sunset Park. Officials said the building, which houses Universal Food Distributors, Inc., was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived.

At one point, flames were seen shooting out from the roof as firefighters worked from the street and on ladder trucks to put it out.

"We set up many tower ladder, large caliber exterior streams, and we used two fire boats. We're very close to the water here. At one point, we were using approximately 15,000 gallons a minute of water on this fire," FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods said. 

Resident Zack Laine said he was on his rooftop and watched the scene unfold.

"The whole sky just lit up in this orange mist, you can say, and then I heard a big boom, and then I heard debris was falling," he said.

"Complete losses" 

Officials said part of the roof collapsed, making conditions more dangerous for crews. The fire also spread to two other neighboring buildings. Bricks, broken beams and puddles now cover the road. One of the warehouses has been reduced to rubble, and hours after the fire was deemed under control, smoke continued to billow out of the building as water continued to spray its remains. 

"There is extensive, extensive damage to these buildings, just complete losses," Woods said. 

More than 80 units with about 270 first responders were called in. 

The chief said there are two minor injuries to firefighters, mainly smoke inhalation. 

Large scene impacts nearby businesses

"It's completely blocked. Our clients aren't able to come in. We have our contractors that come in every morning ready to pick up material and bring it back to their job site. They couldn't even come in with vans and trucks, we couldn't serve anybody unfortunately," said business owner Sergio Rocha.   

"I was walking, going home, and then I saw the whole thing. A lot of police, a lot of cars. So I run home. I actually run. I run home for my safety," area resident Claudio Camaara said. 

"We couldn't open the morning since last night. We were monitoring the flames," said Carlos Decosio, who works in the area. "We just couldn't operate for the day. But we feel sorry for our neighbors."

The field manager of Soccer of Sunset Park, which is across the street, said he's concerned about possible damage.

"We heard we had a fire right across the street from us … seems like it's really bad," he said. "We don't know what's going on over there right now, so we're just waiting on that right now."

"Just looking at it. I mean, it's devastating. I mean, anybody that sees that, it's like starting all over," Decosio said. 

"You see people working there every day, and they don't have a job to go to today, and for the foreseeable future," business owner Laurena Emhoff said. "Your heart goes out to them." 

FDNY officials are working to determine the cause of the fire.