Chemical spill triggered 3-alarm fire at Yonkers beauty products warehouse
A chemical spill inside a household beauty products warehouse in Yonkers triggered a reaction that sparked a three-alarm fire, authorities said.
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A chemical spill inside a household beauty products warehouse in Yonkers triggered a reaction that sparked a three-alarm fire, authorities said.
“First I thought they were shooting a movie, you know, they have the studio over here and then I saw the fumes, the fire department gave me a clue there might be something bigger," said Yonkers resident Chris Angounou.
Yonkers Fire Commissioner William Fitzpatrick said units responded after receiving a call around noon to143 Woodworth Ave. Responders were “confronted with a large white cloud of smoke coming out of the building as a result of a chemical reaction.”
“About an hour into the incident, the chemical reaction intensified and created an exothermic reaction which initiated a fire inside the building. It quickly turned into a three-alarm structure fire,” he said.
Fitzpatrick said the initial investigation pointed to a forklift that damaged a container inside the building and triggered the spill. Hazmat crews were sent to the scene, and the fire was placed under control a short time later.
He said there were some minor injuries to several firefighters and that some civilians were transported to a hospital out of an abundance of caution.
Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza said units were testing air quality in an effort to get trains in the area back up and running. The fire partially suspended service along the Hudson Line.
Some people who live nearby were briefly evacuated during the incident.
"I was coming home, and I saw the fire trucks. I got concerned, so I tried to find out and they were like, 'You can't go there,' and I was like, 'But my house is there,'" said Lynn Price.
Authorities believe the incident was triggered by human error.
Mayor Mike Spano said residents should feel “confident” that responders were able to get the situation under control quickly.
