By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN EAST — A discarded cigarette that was tossed through a sidewalk grate outside of a Midtown office building caused a fire that filled the building's sub-basement with smoke on Monday evening.
The fire, which was called in from 125 Park Ave.at E. 42nd Street at 5:27 pm., was caused by a cigarette that smoldered in a transformer box below street level, according to fire officials on the scene.
When firefighters entered the third level below ground to locate the source of the fire, they found a thick wall of smoke, officials said. With the help of Con Edison workers, the FDNY was able to find the source and get the fire under control by approximately 7 p.m.
Workers in the building were initially asked to stay at their places of work — rather than evacuate — because there was minor smoke in one of the building's stairwells. People were finally allowed to leave the building a little after 6 pm., FDNY officials said.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire, according to the FDNY.
