Firefighters on Wednesday extinguished a fire at a New York City hospital complex that sent up plumes of thick black smoke visible for miles but injured no one.
The building where the blaze broke out at NYU Medical Center is under construction, and no patients were present, medical center spokeswoman Allison Clair said.
“They haven’t even finished construction on that building,” the desk manager at Susan and Martin Lipton Hall told Metro. “[FDNY]told us we are OK for now.”
The cause of the fire, which happened on the rooftop next to the main hospital building, was not immediately known, she said.
Social media users posted photos of the smoke rising near First Avenue in Manhattan and a video that showed flames coming from the rooftop.
City officials sent an email to residents advising them to close windows and reduce their outdoor activity where smoke is present.
The fire was not expected to delay the planned 2018 opening of the building under construction, which will house patients and administrators, Clair said.
-Amanda Mikelberg/Metro contributed to this report
BREAKING: 2 Alarm Fire At NYU Hospital In Manhattan – https://t.co/YhAbnVhXWC pic.twitter.com/WdWTNdkiFY
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 14, 2016
3-Alarm Fire at NYU Hospital In Manhattan – https://t.co/YhAbnVhXWCpic.twitter.com/pLq7WLVjI2
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 14, 2016
