SUNSET PARK — A massive warehouse fire in Sunset Park left two firefighters injured during the early morning hours on Wednesday.
The five-alarm blaze started at 12:15 a.m. inside a factory at 17 53rd St.
Kevin Woods, chief of fire operations at the New York Fire Department, said that there was a heavy fire throughout the building that extended to two factories.
“We immediately went to an exterior operation,” he said during a press conference. “We immediately transmitted multiple alarms to bring our resources here to the scene. We set up many tower ladders, large caliber exterior streams, and we used two fireboats. We’re very close to the water here.”
The FDNY sent 84 units and 270 firefighters and emergency medical services personnel to the blaze. At one point, firefighters were using 15,000 gallons of water a minute.
The injuries to firefighters were mainly from smoke inhalation.
Woods called the damage to the buildings extensive.
“Just complete losses,” he said. “There are still hot spots. The main fire building collapsed. But there’s also a danger of some walls collapsing.”
Most of the fire has been put out, but FDNY said it will continue to have resources in the area as it brings in units to relieve the other ones.
Fire marshals will investigate the cause of the fire.
A five-alarm fire destroyed a large two-story building at 17 53rd St. on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Photo: Marc A. Hermann
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