MIDTOWN — A Lexington Avenue hotel was evacuated Wednesday morning when a fire broke out in an electrical panel and prompted a power outage throughout the building, FDNY and witnesses said.
Smoke filled the Lexington, a hotel where rooms can go for over $300 a night, when a small fire broke out in an electrical box about 8:37 a.m., a fire spokesman said.
The electrical fire spread through the walls prompting the 110 firefighters who responded to cut them open and extinguish the flames, the spokesman said.
No injuries were reported and a hotel manager on the scene declined to comment.
Arsenia Gonzalez, a hotel attendant was cleaning a lobby bathroom when the power went out, said she was scared and confused when she saw people running from the building.
Her colleague, Nancy Cruz, had to run down 24 flights of stairs in darkness, Cruz said.
Travelers clasping large bags were waiting outside the hotel about an hour later, unsure when they'd be able to get back inside.
Eva Karlsson, a Swedish woman who had flown back to New York after visiting Yellowstone National Park, was checking in when the lights went out.
"I don't know if we can stay here," she said.
