A raging three-alarm fire ravaged a popular Jewish deli in Manhattan on Sunday, resulting in minor injuries to several firefighters, officials and witnesses said.
The blaze started in Sarge’s Delicatessen Restaurant on Third Ave. between E. 36th and E. 37th streets around 6:50 p.m. and quickly spread throughout the four-story building, the New York Daily News reported.
“My room started filling up with smoke,” said Amir Jalali, a 28-year-old consultant who lives in an apartment on the top floor. “We looked out the fire escape window and I saw a column of flames in the back of the building.”
More than 150 firefighters battled the blaze for 90 minutes as flames seeped behind the walls of Sarge’s and traveled through ventilation ducts, said Division 3 Deputy Chief Thomas McKavanagh, according to the New York Daily News.
“The restaurant sustained some severe damage and will not be open for a while,” said McKavanagh.
It is not yet clear what sparked the raging fire.