Reports indicate that the Viacom building in Times Square has been evacuated due to a fire in the parking garage. Some reported seeing smoke and smelling gas.
The FDNY is on the scene at Times Square where smoke is pouring into the building from the lower level. The emergency call came in around 4:15 PM at the Viacom building on Broadway and Seventh Avenue.
NYC officials ordered a partial evacuation of about 120 people. Many others have self-evacuated. There is a large emergency response in Times Square.
The fire happened at 1540 Broadway, which is at the corner of 45th Street and Seventh Avenue
There are no reports of any injuries at this time. There is a major FDNY presence at the scene.
About Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment center and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. It stretches from West 42nd to West 47th Streets.
Brightly adorned with billboards and advertisements, Times Square is sometimes referred to as “The Crossroads of the World”, “The Center of the Universe”, “the heart of The Great White Way”, and the “heart of the world”.
One of the world’s busiest pedestrian areas, it is also the hub of the Broadway Theater District and a major center of the world’s entertainment industry. Times Square is one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of them tourists, while over 460,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square on its busiest days.
