Photo by Joe Gall.
A fire erupted Thursday night in a top-floor unit at 12 West 96th street near Central Park West. The blaze, which looked dramatic, was put out by the fire department in less time than it takes to watch an episode of Seinfeld, even without the commercials.
The blaze was called in at 11:20 p.m. and was under control by 11:42, an FDNY spokesman said. Sixty firefighters in 12 units showed up. There were no injuries reported. It was not clear what caused the fire, which is still under investigation by the fire marshal.
Joe Gall told us it “seems like it may have been confined to a glass sunroom attached to the side of the penthouse.”
Photo via @ChristianHears.
Holy crap! The penthouse across the street is on fire. pic.twitter.com/geCcUWOgXL
— Dave McCaig (@DaveMcCaig) December 5, 2014
Firefighters all over the place. pic.twitter.com/1AloPVifvb
— Dave McCaig (@DaveMcCaig) December 5, 2014
Aand…. It’s out. Great work, @fdny ! pic.twitter.com/IJKtxo6CFp
— Dave McCaig (@DaveMcCaig) December 5, 2014
Quick work putting out the fire, AND great cinematic lighting. FDNY has a terrific DP.
— Dave McCaig (@DaveMcCaig) December 5, 2014
So THAT is where the smell of smoke came from. It confused me because I smelled it outside and in our building and then 10 minutes later it already dissipated. It smelled like burning firewood and not the usual melting plastic smell from building fires. Great work FDNY in getting it out so quickly!
Thanks to FDNY and NYPD for the fast, professional, and courteous response.
Thanks for the info, West Side Rag! Was wondering about the bonfire smell out the window and burst of sirens. Way to go FDNY.
Thanks for the excellent report, WSR. I was also concerned about the smell last night.