By Alex Ginsberg
A two-story home in Flushing erupted into flames Sunday afternoon, setting off some of the more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition allegedly kept there by a second-floor tenant, police said.
Atotal of 25 fire trucks and engines and more than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze at 146-20 34th Ave., according to the Fire Department. The fire began shortly after 1:30 p.m. when a second-floor air conditioner malfunctioned, the department said.
Firefighters initially believed the popping sound they heard inside the apartment that 37-year-old John Vivanco shared with his mother was fireworks, but further investigation revealed that the fire had caused ammunition stored in the apartment to explode, police said.
Police recovered about 2,600 rounds of ammunition, seven rifles, a shotgun and an assault rifle, according to a criminal complaint in the Queens district attorney's office.
The weapons included an AK-47, an Uzi and a CAR-15 assault rifle with a telescoping stock and flash suppresser, the criminal complaint said. Vivanco had a valid permit for the shotgun, but the other weapons – including the enhancements – were illegal, police said.
Vivanco was arrested and charged with criminal possession of weapons, reckless endangerment and possession of more than 200 rounds of ammunition, an administrative code violation, police said.
A neighbor, Elizabeth Gomez, said she saw red sparks coming from the faulty air conditioner as she watched from her fifth-floor window one block away.
In the space of only a few minutes, she said, flames sprouted from the second-floor walls.
“I can't believe something like that spread so, so fast,” Gomez said.
Vivanco, who described himself as a gun hobbyist, sat on a neighbor's lawn watching firefighters toss the remains of his possessions out the charred second floor window facing 34th Avenue.
“Don't ever think this wouldn't happen to you,” he was heard telling police. “I'm homeless now. It's a shopping cart for me now.”
The fire was contained in the second floor with minor damage to the structure, Citywide Tour Commander James Jackson said at the scene. According to the FDNY, six firefighters sustained minor injuries and were treated and released at New York Hospital Queens.
The owner of the building, Victor Toscano, a display designer from Valley Stream, L.I., said his mother lived in the first-floor apartment. She was not home at the time because she had been staying with her son for the past several weeks.
Toscano said Vivanco and his mother Lynn had been tenants in the building for two years. He was aware of Vivanco's gun collection and said he never considered it a problem.
The fire forced the closure of P & Y Beauty Supply, a salon that occupies the front of the first floor as well as the King Wong Laundromat next door.
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
