FireFighterNation

Manhattan Three-Alarm Pier Fire

Scene is site of some of the oldest buildings in Manhattan.

Downtown Manhattan was engulfed with smoke today after a century-old pier caught fire. The billows were rising from a three-alarm fire at the South Street Seaport, which interrupted a popular music festival. While the fire was swiftly brought under control soon after it started around four o'clock on Saturday afternoon, the area remained thickly covered in smoke.

The blaze was located at the end of Pier 17, which hosts the historic port district and shopping mall. Firefighters used chain saws to remove planks of old timber to get to the flames.
Although it did not reach as far as the 4Knots Music Festival, the event was temporarily shut down as a precaution. The festival re-opened 15 minutes later when the audience was deemed to be in no danger.

A security guard told the Daily News he had been worried that one of the historic ships kept at the port had caught alight. 'I saw flames going up, I thought it was an entire ship that was caught on fire,' he said. The South Street Seaport was built in the early 19th century and contains some of the oldest buildings in Manhattan. It was renovated in the 1980s and became a major tourist destination and shopping hub.