A popular Hell’s Kitchen eatery was destroyed by a blaze Sunday morning when firefighters had trouble finding the hydrants that were buried under piles of snow.
The four-alarm fire broke out at Empanada Mama on Ninth Avenue between West 51st and West 52nd Streets at around 8:45 a.m. But before firefighters could battle the blaze, they had to deal with the mounds of snow on the sidewalks, officials said.
“The first unit on the scene . . . couldn’t see the hydrants that were on the side of the street where the fire was located,” Assistant Chief Ronald Spadafora said.
“Luckily, they just saw the tip of one fire hydrant across the street.”
Spadafora added that residents should start digging out the hydrants in their neighborhoods to prevent future complications.
“We really like to make sure the city residents — if they can help us out — start digging out those hydrants and the units will do the same thing,” he said. “That would really help.”
There are about 100,000 fire hydrants in the city, officials said.
Empanada Mama assistant manager Stuart Bragg said the blaze started in the boiler room of the restaurant and quickly destroyed the storefront.
“It’s completely gutted,” Bragg told The Post. “There was smoke that seemed to be coming out of the boiler room . . . A few minutes went by and smoke came billowing out from the stairs.”
Bragg said he quickly hit the buzzers of all the residents in the four-story building so everyone could get out safely.
“My fear was the boiler was going to explode,” he said. “People were asleep and they smelled smoke.”
Bravest continued to fight the fire and were able to put it out at around 11 a.m. No injuries were reported, according to officials at the scene.
Locals were dismayed by the possible demise of the popular Latin restaurant, which is famous for its deep-fried delights.
“I just grabbed dinner there Friday night,” said neighbor Carla Paul. “That place is really good.”
“I just got a gift card for Empanda Mama for Christmas. It’s a bummer if I can’t eat there.”
Some patrons went on social media to mourn the loss of their beloved West Side stop.
“Literally devastated that one of my favorite restaurants in NYC burned to the ground #EmpanadaMama,” tweeted Carl Culley.
A Pay-O-Matic check cashing store on the first floor was also damaged.