FDNY firefighters were called to a commercial building fire in a one-story storefront in Flushing, Queens, around 6:00 a.m., Thursday morning.
The occupancy houses multiple kiosks selling clothing and other goods. More than 35 fire companies and 200 firefighters were called to the scene, NBC 4 New York reported.
Crews battled heavy fire and smoke conditions that caused a partial collapse of the structure.
Due to the collapse and fire load, firefighters will have to let the fire burn through the debris before they can extinguish it, according to fire officials.
Fire officials said they expect the incident to be a long-term operation. FDNY Acting Chief of Operations Richard Blatus said, "We will be here for most of the day, if not into the night. Once the fire is completely extinguished, we will have Department of Buildings evaluate the structure and see what kind of searches we can undertake."
