A five-alarm fire broke out in the Bronx Thursday morning, seriously damaging six businesses and sending heavy smoke billowing into the air, authorities said.

The FDNY received a call reporting a blaze at a restaurant at 2037 Jerome Ave., near the Burnside Avenue 4 train in Morris Heights, around 8:20 a.m., Chief of Department John Esposito said at a briefing. 

Firefighters responding to the scene discovered a row of stores on West Burnside Avenue were ablaze as well, Esposito said. 

More than 200 fire and emergency medical service personnel worked to extinguish the fire, which was still burning as of early afternoon, he said. No one was injured, but four businesses on West Burnside Avenue and two on Jerome Avenue were “severely damaged,” he added. 

It wasn’t immediately clear where the fire started, and its cause is still under investigation. 

Esposito said the bulk of the blaze the FDNY initially responded to was in the “cockloft” space between the restaurant’s ceiling and roof. 

“The great difficulty in this type of fire, these are very old buildings. They’ve been renovated numerous times,” he said. “Generally there are several ceiling levels, and when that fire is above the ceiling and under the roof, it’s a space of about three to four feet deep. It’s very difficult and time-consuming for our firefighters to open that up, to access that so we can put water in there to extinguish the fire.” 

FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said a vehicle was blocking a fire hydrant at the scene when firefighters arrived. 

While no one was injured or killed in Thursday’s fire, Tucker said a vehicle was also parked in front of a hydrant at the scene of a fatal fire in the Bronx several weeks ago. 

“I appeal to all New Yorkers: Parking on fire hydrants slows our firefighters down from getting water on the fire,” he said. “If you think parking on a fire hydrant is a convenience, it’s not: It’s a recipe for death.” 

In a statement, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson thanked the firefighters and other emergency responders who worked to put out the blaze. 

"I also want to extend my thoughts to the business owners and families who have been affected by this fire," Gibson said. "We are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to provide support and resources to those impacted.”