Atlantic City, NJ - A massive fire destroyed several businesses and left seventeen people displaced.

The blaze broke out at 10:09 p.m. Tuesday in the AC Alterations business on the 1100 block of Atlantic Avenue.

First arriving companies encountered heavy smoke and fire.

A second alarm was quickly requested along with an additional ladder company.

The fire quickly spread to adjoining businesses with apartments on the second floors. Crews battled the multi-alarm fire as the roof collapsed in one of the buildings.

Heavy fire was seen erupting from the roofs of the businesses several hours after the initial alarm was reported.

Aerial operations continued throughout the night as flames were still coming from the building more than 12 hours later.

Everyone managed to get out of the buildings safely. Fire officials said that high wind gusts hampered efforts to fight the fire.

Investigators were working to determine what sparked the blaze.