Louis Flores - A five-alarm fire broke out late Monday afternoon in a large office building at 74-09 37th Avenue, between 74th and 75th Streets in Jackson Heights, Queens. The fire began at about 5:30 p.m., said one witness, who works at the pizza shop across the street from the burning building.

Jackson Heights residents coming home from work were blocked as they walked up several streets from the major transit hub at Roosevelt Avenue, about one block away from the fire.

Witnesses saw three ladder companies hosing down the fire. A fourth ladder company was on the scene, but it was not actively engaged in fighting the fire. Several firefighter engines were on the scene in the blocks around the burning building. The top two floors of the building could be seen as having been destroyed the the fire.