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Fire at Trump Tower Critically Injures One, Officials Say Fire at Trump Tower Kills One, Police Say
(about 2 hours later)
A fire broke out on Saturday at Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan, critically injuring one person, the authorities said. A 67-year-old man died after being injured in a fire at Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, the police said.
It was not immediately clear how the person, a civilian, was injured. Three firefighters sustained minor injuries, according to a New York Fire Department official. The man was in an apartment on the 50th floor at the time of the fire, which was reported around 5:30 p.m., the police said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity was not immediately released.
The fire was on the 50th floor of the building, a Fifth Avenue skyscraper that is the calling card of President Trump’s real estate business. It was reported around 6 p.m. Four firefighters sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said at a news conference.
Mr. Trump, who was in Washington at the time, said on Twitter the fire had been extinguished, attributing its confinement to the tower’s construction. He said the apartment, a large unit that was heavily furnished, was “virtually entirely on fire.” Video footage showed flames bursting through broken windows.
Neither President Trump nor his family was in the building, a Fifth Avenue skyscraper that is the calling card of his real estate business.
The commissioner said firefighters went with the Secret Service to inspect the president’s residence. While the rest of the building had a “considerable amount of smoke,” it was not immediately clear if it reached Mr. Trump’s unit, he said.
More than 200 firefighters responded to the fire, the cause of which was unknown, the commissioner said.
Mr. Trump, who was in Washington at the time, said on Twitter that the tower’s construction helped confine the fire.
The commissioner said the upper floors that are home to residences do not have fire sprinklers. “It’s a well-built building,” he said. “The building sure stood up quite well.”
While the building is subject around the clock to extra security by law enforcement, extra fire protection happens only when the president is there, Commissioner Nigro said.
The authorities restricted passers-by from the area directly in front of the tower, keeping them out of the street and on the sidewalk on the opposite side of Fifth Avenue.The authorities restricted passers-by from the area directly in front of the tower, keeping them out of the street and on the sidewalk on the opposite side of Fifth Avenue.
A 76-year-old resident who was still in the tower said the episode reminded her of the Sept. 11 attacks. Lalitha Masson, a 76-year-old resident, called it “a very, very terrifying experience.”
“When I saw the television, I thought we were finished,” said the woman, Lalitha Masson, who lives on the 36th floor with her husband, Narinder, who is 79 and has Parkinson’s disease. “When I saw the television, I thought we were finished,” said Ms. Masson, who lives on the 36th floor with her husband, Narinder, who is 79 and has Parkinson’s disease. “I started praying That this was our end. I called my oldest son and said goodbye to him because the way it looked everything was falling out of the window, and it reminded me of 9/11.”
“I started praying,” Ms. Masson continued. “That this was our end. I called my oldest son and said goodbye to him because the way it looked everything was falling out of the window, and it reminded me of 9/11. I witnessed that, and this looked like that the way the fire was raging from the windows. It was a very, very terrifying experience.”
She said that she did not get any announcement about leaving, and that when she called the front desk no one answered.She said that she did not get any announcement about leaving, and that when she called the front desk no one answered.
Dennis Shields, a resident who said he lived on the 42nd floor, described the scene.Dennis Shields, a resident who said he lived on the 42nd floor, described the scene.
“You could smell the smoke and you could hear things falling like through the vents,” he said. “It just smelled like sulfur.”“You could smell the smoke and you could hear things falling like through the vents,” he said. “It just smelled like sulfur.”
He said there were no orders to evacuate but he received a text message from Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael D. Cohen.He said there were no orders to evacuate but he received a text message from Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael D. Cohen.
Mr. Shields, who said he grew up with Mr. Cohen, continued: “He said, ‘Are you in the building?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘You better get out ASAP.’ That’s how I knew to get out, otherwise I’d still be in there.”Mr. Shields, who said he grew up with Mr. Cohen, continued: “He said, ‘Are you in the building?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘You better get out ASAP.’ That’s how I knew to get out, otherwise I’d still be in there.”
In January, a small electrical fire broke out near the top of the building. Officials at the time indicated it was in the building’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.
A firefighter was hurt by falling debris and two civilians were injured.