Transformer explosion shatters windows, blackens front of NYC building; no injuries reported

Transformer explosion shatters NY building windows

NEW YORK — An explosion in a transformer underneath a Manhattan sidewalk sent flames up the front of a landmark building Thursday, shattering windows and blackening the front of several stories. No injuries were reported.

Consolidated Edison spokesman Christopher Olert said the transformer was in a vault below the front of the seven-story building. An investigation was under way into the cause.

Deputy Fire Chief James Daly said firefighters were initially called out for a report of smoke coming out of a manhole.

He said firefighters had been out all night to deal with manhole fires because of runoff from snow and salt coming into contact with electrical grids below ground.

Carol Paplin, who works for an office furniture dealership on the sixth floor of the building on Sixth Avenue in the Chelsea district, said she detected a sulfur odor as she approached the building at 10:30 a.m., but as she got to the entrance the smell faded and she went inside.

Firefighters arrived at 10:44 a.m. to respond to the report of smoke and evacuated a Radio Shack store, Daly said.

Building workers were told via the public address system that there was a fire on the sidewalk but not to be alarmed, Paplin said.

About 11:20, the explosion happened, with the fireball reaching three stories high.

“It was a pretty powerful explosion,” Daly said.

Another announcement instructed those in the building to evacuate using a back staircase.

“Everyone was calm, although there were many people without their coats and pocketbooks,” said Paplin, who was walking through her office when she saw the fireball.

About 50 to 100 people were evacuated from the commercial building. Daly said there were no injuries.

It took firefighters an hour and 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control, but Daly said there was minimal damage to the building because it is fireproof.

The front door of the Radio Shack store was blown out by the force of the explosion. Other businesses in the building include a Bally’s Total Fitness gym and a Papyrus stationery store. The building also houses the Apex Technical School on the opposite end from where the damage occurred.

The building is part of the Ladies’ Mile Historic District, so named for the shops and stores that were along parts of Broadway toward the end of the 19th century. That area was given its designation in 1989.

The structure, known as the Simpson, Crawford and Simpson building, “is an incredibly important building historically and architecturally,” said Elisabeth de Bourbon, spokeswoman for the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Done in the Beaux Arts style, the building was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century. It has been used as a department store, a warehouse and an automobile showroom.