April 5, 2008: Vol. 31, No. 14
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Fowl play! Did Gristedes fire begin in rotisserie?
The Brooklyn Paper
Firefighters admire their handiwork outside the Henry Street Gristedes.
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del.icio.usBlack smoke filled the air in Brooklyn Heights on Tuesday night after a large fire broke out inside the deli deparment of the Gristedes supermarket on Henry Street — a blaze that possibly started in a rotisserie chicken device.
Employees and shoppers fled the grocery on Tuesday, when thick smoke engulfed the aisles. Twelve units responded to the 5:52 pm call, bringing 60 firefighters to battle the blaze.
A fire official on the scene said that the blaze was electrical in nature and it “started towards the front of the store.” And an employee told The Brooklyn Paper that the fire started “in the back of the deli department,” where Gristedes had those rotisserie units.
The employee, who gave the name Sanford, added that the store was severely damaged from “the smoke and the water” — and the FDNY officer certainly agreed with that assessment.
“The store is trashed,” he said. “Entirely trashed.”
The street didn’t look much better. To gain access to the blaze, firefighters had to smash the store’s front windows, leaving glass strewn across the sidewalk.
Cops reported no injuries.
The smoke attracted neighbors, who gathered behind police tape between Clark and Pineapple streets, snapping photos on their cellphones.
“It was black everywhere, smoke was blowing all over the place,” said Tifany Drinkwater, who lives across the street in the St. George Hotel. “There was so much smoke — it looked really bad.”
With Gristedes closed, residents of the North Heights will have to trek to Key Food on Montague Street for a full-service supermarket, or shop at the smaller Peas & Pickles on Henry Street.
Gristedes officials vowed to reopen the store, and said the pharmacy might be back in business as early as this weekend.
“I’m sure we’ll open fast — I’m just not sure how fast,” said manager Stephen Melesio.
©2008 The Brooklyn Paper
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