Fire destroys Valley Stream businesses

A dozen businesses were damaged or destroyed when fire tore through a strip mall on West Merrick Road last week.

The fire began shortly before 11 p.m. on Aug. 8 in Merrick Dry Cleaners, and spread to Kim Wong Chinese Kitchen and Dale Drug before firefighters were able to control it. A firewall on the east side of the dry-cleaner kept the flames from spreading the other way. The shopping center is on the north side of Merrick Road, between Dale Place and Shaw Avenue.

Several other businesses suffered smoke and water damage. Ceilings were broken open in the other stores, because the fire spread through the attic. Charles Brocher, first assistant chief of the Valley Stream Fire Department, said that firefighters had to make sure the flames didn’t spread any farther. “It got up into the cockloft and it dropped down from store to store,” he said.

More than 100 firefighters from eight departments battled the three-alarm blaze, which took about an hour and a half to bring under control. Brocher said that the dry-cleaner and Chinese restaurant were already engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and the blaze was spreading into the drug store. “At that point, we were able to contain it from spreading any further,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Brocher said that several people passing by reported the fire, which appears to have started in the front of the dry-cleaner. The first units were on the scene within minutes, and firefighters remained there until about 3 a.m.

Flames broke through the roof above Dale Drug, and smoke damage was visible under the awning along the entire length of the shopping center. Brocher estimated the damage to be at least $2 million.

The following morning, a cleaning crew hired by the landlord was on the scene and working in several of the businesses where damage was minimal. Workers were sweeping up broken ceiling tiles and glass and scrubbing down walls and furniture. Many doors and windows will have to be replaced.

“I can’t have anybody in here until the smell is gone,” said Vincent Sinclair, owner of a martial arts academy. “We were fortunate it didn’t hit us as bad as down the block.”

Sinclair’s business has been in the shopping center for about four years. He said the academy is popular, and he felt bad for his students, who would miss about a week of classes. It could have been more than that, he said, if firefighters hadn’t done such a good job of containing the blaze.

Ben, the owner of Ben and Tony’s Barber Shop, estimated that the fire would shut the shop down for about two weeks, even though there was little damage, and he said he was concerned about the effect it would have on his business. “We have an established business, being here over nine years,” he said.

Row Williams, who works up the road at South Shore Honda, was walking by the following morning when he saw the damage. He said he had items in the dry-cleaner that he was supposed to pick up last Friday, two days after the fire.

His clothes, which included two jackets, are gone, he said, adding that he felt bad for the owners. “They’re very good,” he said. “They were some nice people.”

Early this week, a sign at Dale Drug said it would be relocating in the near future. The power remained off to the entire row of stores. The only business that appeared to escape any damage was a deli and caterer at the east end of the building.

One firefighter was injured in the blaze. He was taken to a local hospital and treated for heat exhaustion before being released. Valley Stream firefighters were assisted by the Elmont, Hewlett, Lawrence-Cedarhurst, Lynbrook, Malverne, Rockville Centre and Woodmere fire departments.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not considered suspicious.