Queens is still burning: water pressure difficulties led to supply store inferno

 

Queens Chronicle

Two fires hit Jamaica last Wednesday just hours apart. The first was at 101 Plumbing & Electrical Supplies and the second at a two-story vacant commercial building that was once used as a Nissan car dealership.

The blazes at both locations were so severe that the city Department of Buildings held an interagency meeting at the site of 101 Plumbing on Tuesday with representatives of other city agencies, the owner, Lakhinder Multani, and his private engineer, and it also issued a full vacate order for the former car dealership directly after the March 30 fire, which remained in effect after a follow-up inspection on Monday.

The DOB on Tuesday approved plans by Multani to demolish the electrical supply store, located at 138-14 101 Ave., and work was expected to begin that day, according to a spokesman from the agency. An update on the status of the demolition will be issued later this week.

The fire at the plumbing store, went to five alarms, according to the FDNY’s acting chief of department, John Hodgens.

“We had heavy smoke coming from a one-story commercial building ... and a collapse of parts of the interior of the building,” Hodgens said at press conference on March 30.

The blaze at the store, which housed a shop and an industrial warehouse, required the deployment of more than 200 firefighters and EMS workers dispatched from 44 units, according to the FDNY.

“We have no injuries reported,” Hodgens said of civilians. “Our chief concern is containing this fire and preventing it from spreading to the building on either sides of it. We are going to be here for a while.”

The city Department of Environmental Protection had to step in to help contain the fire because of water pressure issues, according to Hodgens.

“We didn’t have enough water coming out from the hydrant main system,” said the fire chief. “We needed DEP to step in and help us isolate [the problem] to get better water pressure.”

Cars had to also be moved for firefighters to put out the blaze, added Hodgens.

“Sometimes we have to use tow trucks to move them,” he said. “We need to get the apparatus into the building to be effective.”

Houses also surrounded the electrical supply store, which was also a cause of concern for Hodgens.

“We addressed that immediately,” said Hodgens. “The fire is contained to 101 Electrical Supplies.”

The fire at the supply store was under control at 1:11 a.m., according to the FDNY.

The city Department of Buildings arrived March 30 and conducted structural stability inspections, according to a DOB spokesman. Inspectors documented extensive fire damage to the property, including the collapse of the building’s roof. The adjoining premises, 138-18 101 Ave, suffered damage to its garage and due to the severity of the damage and the interest of public safety, a full vacate order was issued last Friday.