8 firefighters injured battling high-rise fire in Lower Manhattan

(Lower Manhattan-WABC, Nov. 15, 2007) (WABC) -- Firefighters had their work cut out for them as they battled a stubborn high-rise fire in the financial district earlier this morning.

Even though there were no sprinklers on the 29th floor, firefighters say things went according to plan. When they arrived on the scene, they were warned of the conditions and knew exactly how to fight the fire.

"There's no sprinklers up there. The fire was knocked down by the aggressive FDNY engines, said Deputy Chief James Daly, FDNY.

Firefighters battled the blaze on the 29th floor of 80 Pine Street, which broke out just after 12:30 a.m. There were no sprinklers on the entire floor, but a sign in the building made them aware of that. Believer or not, this is within regulation. The building was built in the 60s and at that time it was not mandatory for all high-rises to have sprinklers on every floor.

"I was always under the assumption that there were sprinklers on every floor...Fire travels up, that just does not make sense," one resident said.

Heavy flames could be seen shooting out the windows of the 40-story office building, which towers from the financial district.

Witnesses on the ground reportedly, dodged falling glass and debris as the flames spread through the floor. No civilian injuries were reported.

Eyewitness News is told more than 130 firefighters put out the flames in an hour.

" Eight firefighters sustained injuries that were described as minor.

Officials say the fire broke out on a floor that houses Tullett & Tokyo, an international money management firm. The flames were confined to a floor that handles administrative matters, a spokesman said.

The firm employees more than 1,000 workers in New York and New Jersey. It is the world's second largest "inter-dealer broking group," providing a marketplace for investment banks to execute complicated trades.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Get more News »

• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•