After five laborers almost perished in a sealed, flaming Ozone Park food store last weekend, both the store’s owner and the contractor in charge of its renovation were cited for contributing to the near tragedy. Fire marshals arrested Jose Correa, 48, of JMX Contracting, alleging that he held the keys to Met Foods, located at 101st Avenue and 102nd Street. He was not present to free his workers when flames broke out in the store at roughly 3:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Fire Department issued Yunes Doleh, the store’s owner, a summons for the building’s locked exit.After the fire broke out, the workers reportedly retreated to the store’s basement and took turns screaming for help and pounding on the store’s 102nd Street exit. “I could hear banging. I thought cars were being broken into,” recalled one of the store’s 102nd Street neighbors. After two firefighters sawed through the corrugated metal gates, they found the five men huddled in the basement with blackened shirts over their faces.
The workers had been using a blowtorch to remove floor tiles, but the cause of the fire remains under investigation, an FDNY official said.
Three of the workers were treated at Jamaica Hospital for smoke inhalation and released. Two more were taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital with minor injuries. Sixty firefighters responded to the blaze, which was extinguished by 5 a.m.
Tom Quatto, who worked as a bagger and stocker in the store up until only a few weeks ago, said that the renovation included the replacement of its ceiling as well. But Quatto doubted his former boss’ involvement in the incident, instead faulting the project’s contractor. “It’s a shame. He’s a good man,” Quatto said of Doleh, who has owned the store for roughly five years.
Although no one answered calls to his Staten Island home, many of the store’s neighbors similarly spoke highly of Doleh. Shoppers said that he went out of his way to greet them. Ralph Francisco, of nearby Francisco Funeral home, said: “It’s surprising to even hear (of the summons).”
Correa’s alleged reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. He could not be reached for comment.
Although the citizenship status and names of all five workers have not been released, immigrant advocacy groups charge that many contractors regularly lock workers inside the buildings they are renovating to prevent them from stealing and to prevent robberies from the outside.
