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No injuries were reported and 65 residents were displaced, Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said, adding that the "strategic positioning of trucks" around the building kept the situation from becoming far worse
"Hundreds of lives could have been impacted," the mayor said outside the Hamilton Avenue building -- across from the No. 6 school -- early Friday, Oct. 14.
The four-alarm blaze broke out in a rear apartment shortly before 2 a.m., responders at the scene said.
It rapidly climbed through the second floor to the third-story cockloft, blew through the roof and spread to Neury and Irving Grocery on the corner.
That forced firefighters into an exterior defensive operation as the flames got heavier and a portion of the building eventually collapsed.
A utility crew cut the gas flow, making the task a little easier.
"I want to commend the efforts of our firefighters," Lora said. "Because of their heroic efforts and constant work, over 65 individuals, even though they're displaced, they're alive today -- children, families, seniors."
The American Red Cross was helping the displaced residents with food, clothing and shelter.
Checks were conducted through the night at the Hamilton Plaza Nursing & Rehabilitation Facility to be sure all residents there were safe, the mayor noted.
"The entire area is blocked off," Lora added. "We will make every accommodation to make sure kids get to school. The children that are impacted by the fire, that's more of a challenge.
"They don't have their uniforms. They don't have their book bags."
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