Massive Fire Damages Eight Storefronts in Queens

A row of stores in Queens, New York has been damaged in a four-alarm blaze that led to the evacuation of dozens of homes and took about 200 firefighters to bring under control.

Four firefighters suffered minor injuries, but no one else was hurt in Saturday’s fire in the Jackson Heights neighborhood.

A fire official says the blaze started in a furniture store and spread to seven other storefronts on 37th Avenue between 84th and 85th streets. The shops included a dry cleaner, a shoemaker, a liquor store and a beauty supply store.

Fifty-four homes at a nearby apartment building were evacuated.

The blaze was called in about 9:53 a.m. and was under control about three hours later.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.