RICHMOND HILL — A two−alarm fire caused serious damage to a mixed−use building Jan. 13, firefighters said.
The blaze erupted at the Beep America store at 112−05 Jamaica Ave. around 5 p.m., according to the FDNY. Construction workers were removing a boiler from the building’s cellar with a blow torch and started the fire, which worked its way to the first floor, according to tenants who lived in the building.
The FDNY said it was still investigating the cause of the fire, which sent to firefighters to an undisclosed hospital for smoke inhalation.
Tenants, who lived in the apartments on the building’s second and third stories, said they smelled the smoke, called 911 and fled before the fire got to their homes. The store’s windows were blown out and parts of the store were burned out.
