Multiple cars are on fire at Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Brooklyn, a mall spokesperson says, and video posted to social media shows thick smoke overwhelming the entire immediate area.
A call about the fire in the parking garage at the mall on Avenue U and Flatbush Avenue came in shortly before 9 a.m. Monday. The blaze quickly escalated from a two-alarm to a three- and four-alarm fire, then became a five-alarm inferno within an hour.
Citizen app video showed smoke spewing from the garage as bystanders crowded near emergency vehicles, seeking shelter from the shroud of smoke.
No injuries were immediately reported, nor was it clear if criminality was suspected. It also wasn't known how many cars may have been involved. The 10-level parking garage holds about 4,000 spaces. More than a half-dozen MTA bus lines were running with delays in the area because of the FDNY activity.
A mall spokesperson said to avoid the area until further notice.
Kings Plaza has more than 120 stores, including Macy's, Best Buy, Sears, H&M, Michael Kors, Express and Foot Locker.
In 2013, it became the subject of a controversial order that temporarily banned people younger than 18 without the presence of an adult after hundreds of teens attacked patrons and vandalized the shopping center, forcing it to shut down.
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