The roof of an East Village building burst into a massive fire today, sending waves of black smoke billowing over the neighborhood before firefighters quickly got the blaze under control.
The five-story building at northeast corner of Houston Street and Avenue A was undergoing renovation of its roof by workers when the fire began, slowly at first.
It was just like a small barbecue fire, 45 minutes before the actual fire, said Parvez Ahmed, 25, owner of a nearby burger joint, Munchies Then there was an explosion and the whole building was engulfed.
The Fire Department said it was notified of soon-to-be four-alarm blaze at 5:36 p.m. Within the next half hour, 138 firefighters and 33 units were dispatched to the scene.
The fire which was limited to the buildings roof and top floor was knocked down by about 6 p.m., the FDNY said.
Three firefighters reported minor injuries.
FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph Pfeifer said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.