More than 100 firefighters from several departments worked Sunday morning to put out a fire that has destroyed several businesses in Floral Park.

Officials say the fire on Covert Avenue started at around 6:30 a.m. in the kitchen of the restaurant Park Place. From there, the fire spread to adjacent storefronts, ultimately taking out around six businesses.

A News 12 crew saw enormous plumes of black smoke spreading into the sky as firefighters dumped water from multiple bucket trucks, and sprayed water directly into storefronts from the street.

One firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion but is expected to recover.

Paul Capoziello, the owner of Capo Italian restaurant, could do nothing but stand and watch as his bistro burned to the ground. He said he started the business 12 years ago and said it was heartbreaking to watch it go up in flames.

"It hurts in my heart. Work every day, try to make people happy with food, get people through COVID with food, help hospitals with food. To come and see this, it's surreal. Absolutely surreal," Capoziello said.

Mayor Dominick Longobardi said the shops and restaurants that were destroyed were the fabric of the tightly knit community. He added that many of them were already struggling because of COVID-19.

"It's just such a horrible tragedy, especially for our businesses who were getting somewhat back to somewhay normal after the pandemic," Longobardi said.

There’s no word on what might have caused the fire to start.

Now the focus is on cleaning up, while business owners like Capoziello figure out how they're going to rebuild.

"We'll come back stronger. That's all I can do," Capoziello said.

The exact cause of the fire is under investigation.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help those impacted by the fire. Residents interested in donating can follow this link.