A fire that started in the basement of a Chelsea building tore up through a shaft into the floors above it Saturday, triggering a second alarm and pulling dozens of firefighting units to the scene along Broadway. Two civilians suffered minor injuries in the blaze but refused medical attention, and officials said no other injuries were reported.
The Fire Department received the call at 11:48 a.m. for a fire at 1123 Broadway, between West 25th Street and West 26th Street, according to ABC7 New York. Officials said the fire was located in a shaft and extended from the basement to the second and third floors of the building.
Second Alarm Brings Dozens of Units
As the flames climbed through the structure, a second alarm was transmitted at 12:17 p.m., just under half an hour after the initial call came in. The response ultimately involved 46 units and 141 Fire and EMS personnel, a sizable mobilization for a fire that began in a single basement space before spreading upward.
Firefighting operations were still ongoing Saturday afternoon as crews worked to fully knock down the blaze, the station's report noted. Two civilians caught up in the fire suffered minor injuries but declined medical attention at the scene, and no further injuries among residents, bystanders or firefighters were reported.
A String of Recent Chelsea Fires
Saturday's fire adds to a string of recent blazes in the Chelsea area, though the incidents are separate and unconnected. A three-alarm fire tore through a vacant six-story Manhattan apartment building after crews responded at 6:08 a.m. one Sunday, according to News 12 Bronx. FDNY officials classified that blaze as a three-alarm incident at Box 0603, with roughly 192 firefighters and EMS personnel on scene, and reported that two firefighters suffered minor injuries before the fire was brought under control about two hours after the initial call, with its cause still under investigation.
Another fire struck a separate empty building at 216 Seventh Avenue, where flames burned through the first, fifth and sixth floors, according to the New York City Fire Department as reported by NBC New York. That blaze forced the closure of Seventh Avenue between West 22nd and West 23rd streets and left four firefighters with minor injuries, who were taken to hospitals. No one was inside the building at the time, and neighbors told the outlet the structure had sat vacant for roughly a decade.
The cause of Saturday's fire at 1123 Broadway has not been released, and no information has been provided about the extent of property damage or whether residents were displaced. As firefighting crews continued working the scene into the afternoon, the full scope of the aftermath for the Broadway building remained unclear.
