Five businesses were destroyed on the main shopping strip of Mount Vernon's downtown when an early morning fire ripped through half a block on South Fourth Avenue on Aug. 5, 1997.
The fire began in a refrigeration unit of a fruit and vegetable market and spread into the common loft from 134 to 144 South Fourth, destroying the market, a podiatrist's office, a beauty parlor, a bakery and a music center.
Two apartments adjacent to the strip were also heavily damaged.
It took 40 firefighters from Mount Vernon and Yonkers to control the blaze from outside due to fear of collapse, which the roofs did by mid morning.
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 1997 fire destroyed row of businesses in downtown Mount Vernon
