A fire in a building at the corner of Broadway and Straight Street in Paterson reduced the building to rubble Sunday morning. Crews are now working to clear the lot where the building once stood.
Furkan Khan, the owner of Hollywood Fried Chicken, says he had just closed his shop Saturday night when he was alerted by someone there was a fire.
“I was watching, all night burning. It started from the other side,” Khan says.
Officials say no one was seriously injured, but 17 people are without a home and several businesses are lost.
The initial reports were that there was one person unaccounted for, but that person was later located safe.
The cleanup effort started once the fire was put out. Large and small excavators have been brought in to help crews get the job done. Officials say it is an effort that will last several days.
Luis Rosado was a big fan of Hollywood Fried Chicken. He says now he’ll have to go elsewhere.
“It’s sad. They make a lot of money. A lot of chicken is sold there. It’s a good spot – the chicken, the sweet potato pies, they’re awesome,” says Rosado.
People in the community hope something gets rebuilt at the location so the property doesn’t sit empty.
“I’m hoping they rebuild the place, and we get the store. We are going to run the business again,” Khan says.
The hope is for the cleanup crews to clear all the sidewalks surrounding the property on Monday. Once the rest of the building is down, crews say they will be here for the next couple of days cleaning up debris.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms has been called In to help with the investigation.