Columbia's Favorite Greasy Chinese Spot Ollie's Catches Fire, Explodes

Two explosions and a fire at 116th and Broadway last night destroyed an outpost of Ollie's, a greasy Chinese restaurant that has served as a hangover haven for nearby Columbia students for more than a decade.

Apparent explosion inside Ollie's just a few moments ago. Hopefully everyone is fine. #Ollies #FDNY #FDNY150 #Ladder9 #Ladder43 #Explosion #MorningsideHeights

A photo posted by kidjulian8 (@kidjulian8) on Mar 3, 2015 at 8:51pm PST

The building, which is also a Barnard dorm, was evacuated. "I went out on the street and the whole storefront is falling off...There was a second explosion, there was already black smoke coming out of the building. There was smoke and dust," a student to the Daily News.

The explosions ripped off the facade of the building:

So sad about the explosion at Ollies last night. Hope everyone is okay. pic.twitter.com/3V49ayOlg4

— Brent Stockwell (@bstockwell) March 4, 2015

Police say the first started in the boiler room of the dorm and spread to Ollie's. Five people, including four fire fighters were injured.