By Ben Fractenberg and Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER EAST SIDE — Fire broke out Friday morning on the second floor of a Rivington Street walkup above the popular BaoHous sandwich shop, FDNY officials said.
The blaze began at 10:31 a.m. and was quickly brought under control at 10:56 a.m., according to the FDNY, but the block remained closed to cars shortly before noon.
A firefighter at the scene said a discarded cigarette was likely to blame for the fire, which occurred at 137 Rivington Street, between Suffolk and Norfolk Streets.
No one was inside the apartment when the fire began and BaoHaus remained open despite the smell of smoke, which poured down from the floor above.
"We looked out the back window and saw smoke and then we called the cops," BaoHaus co-owner Evan Huang, 22, told DNAinfo.
A partially burned mattress and some couch cushions lay on the street as firefighters cleared debris off of the sandwich shop's awning.
