By Ben Fractenberg and Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Firefighters evacuated 1500 workers on Tuesday from a Financial District office building that gained notoriety when a cleaning lady vanished and was later found murdered and stuffed in air-conditioning ducts.
The FDNY began battling a transformer fire about midday Tuesday at 2 Rector Street, which was filled with plumes of smoke, firefighters said.
There were no injuries, and the fire was deemed "under control" at 1:22 p.m., the FDNY said.
Workers from offices on the third floor and above were allowed back into the building around 1:30 p.m. Firefighters at the scene said workers from lower floors were held back from re-entering because the power was still out on those floors.
The office building made headlines in 2009, when police discovered the body of cleaning woman Eridania Rodriguez stuffed into a 12th floor air conditioning duct.
Fire officials said Tuesday's fire was caused by a transformer in the exterior courtyard of the 27-story building, which houses the studio of former World Trade Center Daniel Libeskind, in addition to many other businesses.
"I thought it was a drill," Elina Petersson, 25, who works on the 12th floor of the building said. But as she walked down the stairs she did notice that "it smelled smoky."
The Office of Emergency Management warned motorists to expect traffic delays in the area via Twitter on Tuesday.
