Black smoke billowed over Manhattan on Friday as first responders rushed to contain a fire that began in a high-rise apartment building, all of which was captured on video.
Authorities are reporting that the fire started on the roof of a seven-story Upper East Side building. Citizen video from the scene shows orange flames licking the edge of the roof as sirens blare through the air.
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No injuries were immediately reported. The city’s Office of Emergency Management advised travelers to avoid the area and for residents susceptible to smog to close their windows.
Other reports suggest a “major explosion” took place seconds before the fire sprouted around 10 a.m. EST. Over 100 firefighters and first responders rushed to the scene, the Mirror reported.
ABC 7 reported that the explosion may have started in the building’s basement, where gas tanks ignited. Crews are still working to determine the source of the blaze, but for now appear to have the outbreak under control.
A post by the New York Fire Department on X states: “FDNY members are currently operating at a 3-alarm fire at 305 East 95th Street in Manhattan.”
Video from a bystander shows their reactions in the moments after an explosion was heard.
“Something just exploded on E95th street and then this — the black smoke. Looks like it’s getting worse but might be the wind,” they said in the clip. “It is very much mid block by the Q train 96th street station. On the upper east side.”
Another witness named Jimmy replied, “Yes, there was a loud boom just before the fire and smoke started.”
By 11 a.m. photographs from the scene appear to show FDNY fire fighters regaining control of the building’s rooftop and traversing it as they search for a source of the outbreak.
“I heard an explosion from my building just opposite the fire, and looked outside and saw all the smoke in the skies,” building resident Joann Sowma told the Daily Mail.
“There was a loud boom just before the fire and smoke started,” wrote social media user Jimmy Chen, who was nearby when the fire broke out.
Manhattan remains on high alert just weeks after a deranged gunman killed five individuals as he attempted to storm the headquarters of the NFL. The young man, a former collegiate football athlete, had said in previous social media posts that he blamed NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for his struggle with CTE, a brain-wasting disease common among former professional football players.