VIDEO: A hazmat situation in Yonkers caused a fire, leading to evacuations and train service disruptions in the area.
Officials say the fire broke out shortly after noon on Tuesday inside the warehouse of a beauty supply wholesaler at 143 Woodworth Avenue, European Beauty Concepts, eventually escalating to a three-alarm fire.
They say there were household beauty chemicals in containers on a pallet inside the location. Officials believe a forklift moving products around may have damaged one of the containers that caused it to spill, creating a reaction and a toxic cloud of hair and nail treatment chemicals.
“About an hour into the incident, the chemical reaction intensified and created an exothermic reaction which initiated a fire inside, which quickly turned into a three-alarm structure fire,” said Yonkers Fire Commissioner William Fitzpatrick. The chemicals fueled the flames, and it became a much bigger job for the fire department.
