Midtown & Theater District

Crime & Mayhem

Manhole Fire Erupts Near Madison Square Garden

January 21, 2011 4:30pm | Updated January 22, 2011 10:13am
Firefighters battle a manhole fire on 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue on Jan. 21.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

By Ben Fractenberg

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MIDTOWN — A manhole fire outside Madison Square Garden spewed plumes of black smoke into Seventh Avenue and left roads closed at the height of Friday's evening rush hour.

The fire, which broke out at about 3.15 p.m., left 33rd Street closed between Eighth and Sixth Avenues, with Seventh Avenue closed from 32nd Street to 34th Street.

The closures were kept in place for more than an hour.

The fire was in a manhole on the west side of Seventh Avenue at West 33rd Street.

Firefighters at the scene said they tested neighboring buildings for carbon monoxide, but didn't record any dangeorus levels. Occupants of nearby buildings were not evacuated.

A similar fire on the Lower East Side Thursday melted the bottom of a car. Nobody was injured in Friday's blaze.

Smoke billows from the manhole at 33rd Street and Seventh Ave.
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Ben Fractenberg/DNAinfo


Firefighters put out the blaze Friday.
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Ben Fractenberg/DNAinfo
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