On Friday morning, December 27, a fire broke out at the holiday market in Bryant Park in Manhattan, New York City. A video shared online shows a booth engulfed in flames, with thick black smoke rising into the Manhattan skyline.
According to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), the fire occurred at 9:23 a.m. at the holiday market in the park. The booth was shared by four food-related businesses. Footage shared online at the time showed flames roaring from the structure.
Firefighters quickly arrived at the scene upon receiving the alarm. Joseph Castellano, the captain of FDNY’s Ninth Fire Brigade, stated that upon arrival, they found the fire originating in a 6-foot-long, 40-foot-wide structure housing multiple booths. The fire had spread throughout the structure, but firefighters were able to swiftly extinguish it using hoses.
Despite the dramatic appearance of the fire, the Ninth Fire Brigade captain reassured that the situation was not as severe as it seemed. He mentioned in a statement that adjacent booths suffered minor damage, and the high temperatures from the fire affected the roof of the skating rink, but there was no substantial spread of the fire, with only partial charring visible on some white structural elements of the roof.
By 10 a.m., the fire had been completely contained, and firefighters were carrying out final operations at the scene. As of the time of publication, there were no reported casualties from the fire, and the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
The New York Post reported that a spokesperson for Bryant Park mentioned that after the fire, the ice skating rink and The Lodge restaurant were operating as usual, with most holiday market booths resuming business. Unaffected booths were expected to reopen later on the 27th.
Bryant Park’s holiday market is one of New York’s iconic Christmas tourist attractions, attracting a large number of locals and visitors each year.
This fire incident occurred only about 11 days after another market fire at Herald Square. The previous fire happened between 35th and 36th Streets on Broadway, destroying 18 booths, including vendors selling German sausages, glass decorations, and T-shirts.
However, Captain Castellano believes that these two fires were merely coincidental occurrences, not related in any way.