Fire Breaks Out In Hotel Pennsylvania With Demolition Underway

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A fire broke out Monday afternoon inside the Hotel Pennsylvania: the shuttered Midtown institution that is now undergoing demolition.

It began around 2 p.m. on the second floor of the huge, 23-story hotel building, which spans Seventh Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets.

No injuries were immediately reported, an FDNY spokesperson said. The hotel has been free of guests since it closed to the public last year.

Photos and videos from the scene showed smoke billowing out of the building and into the neighborhood, as emergency vehicles crowded the street in front of Penn Station and onlookers watched from the sidewalk.

It took 78 firefighters more than half an hour to contain the fire, bringing it under control by 2:43 p.m., according to the FDNY. The cause will be investigated.

Built in 1919, the historic hotel is now being taken apart from the inside by its owner, the realty firm Vornado. Untapped NY reported last month that mattresses and furniture were being wheeled out of the building, with demolition beginning imminently.

In its place, Vornado plans to build a 1,270-foot-tall office skyscraper known as "Penn 15," designed by architect Norman Foster and his firm. It will make up part of the state-led redevelopment of the area around Penn Station, in which Vornado will construct several other tall towers in a bid to raise money to expand the beleaguered rail hub.