A five-alarm fire in Morris Heights in the Bronx early Monday morning left dozens of families without a place to call home. 

The fire broke out just after 3:15 a.m. in a deli on the first floor of a five story building at Findlay Avenue and 170th Street in the Bronx. 

Firefighters arrived on the scene in just over three minutes. Area residents looked on in disbelief as flames blasted through the building's windows. The fire quickly grew to five alarms, with more than 250 firefighters responding. Two firefighters and a civilian were hurt. 

"The smoke was building up and building, and I was like, I don't want to die," resident Maria Reveron said. "I left everything behind. My ID, my bank card." 

"I wake up, grab my kids, and jumped out the window," ground floor resident Sant Tineo said. "No clothes, no shoes, nothing." 

The response was somewhat hampered by illegally parked cars, fire officials said. 

"We had three cars parked on three different fire hydrants," FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said. "When it's very cold like this, our operation is delayed. We had a little bit of an icing condition with the water." 

As the sun rose, the immense devastation became more visible. Charred debris lined the sidewalk. The building, which was bustling with life Sunday night, is now an empty shell. The deli is destroyed. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani came to the scene to speak with those who left their homes with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. He praised first responders, and highlighted preventable issues that slowed down the firefighters' efforts. 

"There were a number of delays that took place to that fire response, partially because there were cars parked in front of fire hydrants. And also because of a lack of working smoke alarms throughout this building. Those are things that are in our control and we are going to be acting on those," Mamdani said. 

The cars that were blocking the hydrants were impounded, and their owners were issued summonses. 

The Red Cross is working with dozens of displaced residents at Taft High School to help them secure with temporary housing and essentials. The Red Cross said 64 adults and 26 children are receiving aid, from 29 households. The Department of Buildings has issued a full vacate order for the building. 

"We are able to place them in one of our partner hotels," Nicholas Giaquinto of the Red Cross said. 

The residents will spend two nights there, during that time the Red Cross will help them develop long term recovery plans.