38 Hurt in Empire State Building Fire

A fire halfway up the Empire State Building on Monday evening sent flames billowing from shattered windows and chased tourists from the observation deck and workers from throughout the building. At least 38 people were injured, most from inhaling smoke.

About 150 firefighters battled the blaze, which was largely confined to four unoccupied offices on the 51st floor, said Don Malva, a Fire Department spokesman. Heavy smoke poured through the middle floors of the 102-story building, and the entire tower was cleared of tourists and late-lingering office workers.

Josephine Danielson of New York, who was visiting the observation deck with five friends from Spain, said they clambered down stairways to the 70th floor, then took an elevator to ground level.

“We started smelling smoke and we saw on the east side of the building dense black smoke coming from below the tower,” said Danielson, an airline flight attendant. “Whoever runs the observation deck is tremendously unorganized. You would think they would have had some kind of recorded announcement.”

The fire was reported at 6:30 p.m., and by 8:45 p.m. the blaze was out and the danger passed, Malva said. The fire did heavy damage on the 51st floor, with water damage on lower floors and smoke damage above, said John Mulligan, another department spokesman. The cause of the blaze wasn’t immediately known, he said.

Thirty-one firefighters and seven civilians were injured, said Mulligan. Twelve of the firefighters were immediately hospitalized, the most seriously hurt suffering from first and second-degree burns.