EAST VILLAGE — Flames shot out of an East Village rooftop with a cottage-style penthouse Thursday afternoon, according to the FDNY and witnesses.
The fire started in an elevator machine room on the roof of 203 E. 13th St. at about 3:41 p.m. and burned for nearly an hour, according to an FDNY chief. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze by 4:30 p.m. and there were no injuries.
Julia Campbell, 25, was sitting at a nearby restaurant when the fire started.
"It smelled like a pizza oven. There was a guy who ran over to bang on people's doors to get them out," Campbell said. "I was a little scared. I thought, 'What's gonna happen? Is the wooden structure going to fall down?'"
The fire may have been caused by an electrical issue and appears to have been primarily contained to the elevator room, according to the chief.
The roof of the penthouse may have also suffered some damage from firefighters battling the blaze.
The three-bedroom cottage-style penthouse recently sold for $4.4 million, according to Corcoran.
Traffic was closed on 13th Street between Second and Third avenues and on Third Avenue from 12th to 14th streets.
The streets were reopened a little after 5:30 p.m.
—With reporting by Trevor Kapp
