Fire In Midtown Cancer Center Forces Evacuation

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A fire at a Midtown cancer center Wednesday morning forced the hospital to be evacuated and prompted a large emergency response, according to authorities.

An acetylene tank caught on fire just before 8 a.m. on the second floor of the Perlmutter Cancer Center on East 34th Street near Third Avenue — part of NYU Langone Health, according to an FDNY spokesperson.

Acetylene is a gas often used in medicine, and is considered highly flammable.

After evacuating the building, the FDNY's hazardous materials unit worked to get the fire under control, which they managed to do just after 9 a.m., according to the department.

Nobody was injured, and the fuel and tank were removed from the building, the FDNY said.