On the evening of October 26, a fire broke out on Bayard Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown. A significant number of firefighters responded quickly to the scene and managed to extinguish the flames. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The incident occurred at 69 Bayard Street. According to reports from the public safety app Citizen, the 911 call came in at 5:07 PM, alerting authorities to smoke coming from the building with the fire reported to be on the sixth floor. Approximately 20 minutes later, another caller reported visible flames on that same floor.
The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) dispatched over a dozen fire trucks to the scene. Vehicles lined the area from Mulberry Street to Mott Street and Bowery, creating a chaotic but organized scene. Firefighters set up ladders to access the building through windows and the roof, with shards of glass falling during their entry efforts. The fire broke out during the busy weekend dinner hour, prompting concern among the large crowds of residents and tourists gathered below.
According to Citizen, the fire was particularly fierce on the sixth floor, but was not deemed a significant threat to public safety at that time. By 5:30 PM, firefighters had successfully controlled all visible flames, although the specific cause of the fire remains under investigation. Our reporter reached out to the FDNY for comments, but no response was received by the time of publication.
Chinatown has experienced a recent uptick in fires, with this incident occurring less than a month after another significant event. On September 27, a fire broke out in a seven-story mixed-use building next to Roosevelt Park, prompting an emergency evacuation of residents. That blaze resulted in three injuries and severe damage to ground-floor businesses, with reports suggesting it may have been started by homeless individuals.
