Dramatic scenes of firefighters battling a massive blaze on the rooftop of a Midtown Manhattan building in New York City, the United States, are heavily circulating online. Shocking visuals showed dark plumes of smoke billowing into the sky as authorities did their best to contain the wind-driven fire on Tuesday morning (US time).

According to US reports, the incident happened less than a block away from the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17.

The New York City Fire Department instantly took charge of the scene after smoke was seen rising into the air from the 28-story high-rise at 6 East 43rd St, between Fifth and Madison avenues, according to CBS News.

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Videos of the Manhattan rooftop fire near St Patrick’s parade emerge

Among several videos of the incident circulating on social media, a few were posted by the official New York City Fire Department (FDNY). “The FDNY is operating at a fire on East 43rd Street in Manhattan,” it wrote on X. Meanwhile, the accompanying video showed black clouds of smoke in the sky, with the camera later panning down to show the department’s fire truck in the streets.

Dozens of firefighters responded to the incident, according to ABC News’ coverage in the US. Another video shared on the platform Storyful captured them using long and thick water pipes to douse the blaze after the building’s Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system ignited.

What started the Midtown Manhattan building fire?

At a subsequent news conference, FDNY Deputy Chief Brian Whiston said the blaze started around 9:45 am on Tuesday after a cooling tower on the building’s roof caught fire. “It was a wind-driven event, the units took about 140 fire and EMS personnel on scene to take care of the situation,” FDNY Deputy Chief Brian Whiston said.

As of now, the exact cause of the Manhattan fire is still under investigation.

Manhattan fire
Firefighters battle rooftop blaze steps away from St Patrick’s Day Parade. (Storyful)

Any injuries sustained due to the Manhattan fire?

US reports, including ABC News, cited officials saying that an EMS lieutenant and a police officer suffered minor injuries due to smoke inhalation.

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FDNY further divulged that a major tragedy was averted because the Manhattan building is currently under renovation, transforming from office space to residential apartments. As a result, no one was inside it except for construction workers, who all evacuated safely. Additionally, there was no impact to the St Patrick’s Day parade happening nearby.

They also noted that the wind-driven blaze was under control within about 90 minutes.