A four-alarm fire ripped through a section of stores on
Yonkers Avenue Tuesday morning, leaving broken glass and debris strewn about
the sidewalk.
Flames broke out at 671 Yonkers Ave. near St. John the
Baptist Church around 6:30 a.m.
The strip mall contains the Tibbetts Park Market, a dry
cleaner, a computer repair company, a nail salon, laundromat, and insurance
office. The back wall of the building collapsed, as well as the roof of the
market. The businesses were left in ruins.
Fire officials says employees were inside the market
preparing food for the day when the smoke detectors went off. By the time
firefighters arrived, the entire building was engulfed in flames.
It took 90 firefighters almost four hours to quell the
flames. There were no injuries.
Officials say the fire stemmed from One Stop Laundry. The cause is still under investigation, but the deputy chief of the Yonkers Fire Department says it doesn't appear to be suspicious. He says that it was possibly an electrical issue.
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GoFundMe has been set up to help the businesses.