Over 100 firefighters struggled to extinguish a roaring blaze on Friday that started in a Manhattan sushi restaurant and spread to a nearby bodega, authorities said.
The fire started at about 10:50 a.m. at the corner of East 35th Street and burned until 12:31 p.m., a FDNY spokesman said.
“It was reported as an explosion. It started in a wooden storage shed in the restaurant,” said FDNY chief John Sudnick, adding that there is significant damage to the building.
“The firefighters are working hard. It’s a warm day. We can only speculate at this point what caused the fire.”
Nine firefighters and one civilian received minor injuries, according to the spokesman.
Ginza Sushi manager Tiffany You, 25, was working inside when the fire started.
“I was inside and heard a boom. I ran outside and called 911 because I was scared,” You said. “I didn’t know what was happening.”
There were 106 firefighters and about 25 FDNY units on the scene at aboutnoon, the FDNY spokesman said.
A video posted to Instagram showed massive plumes of black smoke billowing from the roof of the building.
“I didn’t see flames when I got here. I came in to go to work and all this was here. It’s very scary,” said sushi server Elaine Zhang, 31.