KIPS BAY — A fast-moving fire tore through a Kips Bay building Monday, killing two dogs, injuring three firefighters, gutting several apartments and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars to a first-floor restaurant, according to an FDNY spokeswoman and the restaurant owner.
Scores of firefighters responded to 122 Lexington Ave. at East 28th Street just after 5 p.m. when an electrical fire broke out in a fourth-floor apartment and quickly spread, officials said.
Firefighters managed to get the flames under control by 6:20 p.m., but not before the flames caused severe damage to the upper floors, sending three firefighters to Bellevue Hospital with minor injuries, officials said. Two dogs also perished in the blaze, according to news reports.
The fire caused extensive damage to Lahori Kabab, a Pakistani restaurant on the ground floor where water continued to flow from the ceiling on Tuesday afternoon as workers cleared charred furniture out of the building.
Kamal Uddin, owner of Lahori Kabab, who was busily moving perishables into a freezer at a restaurant next door, said the fire caused at least $600,000 in damage to his restaurant.
“It is 100 percent damaged,” he said, estimating that he would likely be out of business for months.
Inside the restaurant, furniture was strewn about and there were large holes in the ceiling from where water had poured down from the upper floors. Videos of the scene shot by Uddin showed flames shooting out of the upper floors as firefighters worked to get the blaze under control
The Department of Buildings had placed a full vacate order on the property on Tuesday, resulting in the displacement of the residents of four apartments, records show.