Fire starts in tile store, scorches at least 6 businesses

A fire spread from a Bath Beach tile store and damaged at least a half dozen businesses early Thursday morning, according to the FDNY.
Officials said it sparked inside Universal Ceramic on 2162 Bath Ave. around 3:30 a.m. Firefighters didn't bring it under control until around 8 a.m. Investigators described it as an accidental electrical fire.
"It's terrible," said Leo Feldman, the store owner. "I've been here almost for 20 years, and it's tough to see how everything can be lost overnight."
Firefighters said that because the businesses were all closed at the time they faced some obstacles getting inside, where the fire found a lot of fuel to burn.
"The partitions in the building are all made of combustible wood," said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief John Hodgens. "You have a lot of storage, a lot of cardboard and there's a lot of combustibles."
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, authorities say.