Soooo….Times Square is on fire.
Times Square on fire? That’s the news that spread on Twitter, but it turned out it was a billboard that was ablaze.
Photos and videos circulated on social media, showing the Times Square billboard fire, on the afternoon of May 18, 2019. You can see some of those images throughout this article. “Firefighters are closing off on 7th Ave & W 44th St as they work to control a billboard that burst into flames,” wrote one Twitter user.
RT CitizenApp_NYC: Times Square Billboard Fire — Firefighters are closing off on 7th Ave & W 44th St as they work to control a billboard that burst into flames. Updates and more video here: t.co/xDlHnxLXKc #CitizenApp #ProtectTheWorld
The electronic billboard was advertising whiskey and vodka, among other things. Some reports were quite succinct. “There’s a billboard on fire in Times Square,” wrote ABC7’s Derick Waller.
Fire this afternoon in Times Square west 44th st
The Twitter page NYC Fire Wire wrote, “Manhattan *All Hands* Box 0796. Times Square Studios. Battalion 9 is transmitting the all hands for a billboard on fire.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Photos Showed Flames Bursting From the Times Square Billboard
TIMES SQUARE: Video shows a billboard on fire in Times Square. The FDNY has responded to the scene at 43rd Street and Broadway.
The billboard was located in the heart of Manhattan. “Video shows a billboard on fire in Times Square. The FDNY has responded to the scene at 43rd Street and Broadway,” wrote ABC7 on Twitter.
FDNY says they’re working to put out a billboard fire in Times Square. (📹 from @KellyZipcode)
WCBS-TV reporter Kevin Rincon wrote that the New York Fire Department was working to put out the blaze. The cause of the fire was not yet clear.
“Made it to NYC, decided to walk down through Midtown, and lo and behold a billboard is on fire in Times Square,” a woman tweeted.
Made it to NYC, decided to walk down through Midtown, and lo and behold a billboard is on fire in Times Square.
There were no reported injuries from the fire, which broke out around 3 p.m. on Saturday.