Three Hospitalized After Fire at Historic Hotel Pennsylvania
| 19 Jan 2023 | 11:39
Firefighters were called to the historic but now abandoned Hotel Pennsylvania on Jan. 18 responding to an industrial fire the cause of which is under investigation. Photo: Keith J. Kelly
The once majestic Hotel Pennsylvania, designed by McKim Mead & White, was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in 1919 with over 1,000 rooms but 101 years later COVID-19 forced its closure and the vacant shell is now slated to be torn down. An interior fire on Jan. 18 was its second in a year. Photo: Wikipedia.
Firefighters had the blaze under control in 90 minutes. Photo: Keith J. Kelly
Firefighters responded to a blaze at the nearly 104-year-old Hotel Pennsylvania--across from Madison Square Garden late on January 18, resulting in the hospitalization of three civilians.
The historic--but closed--hotel was designed by McKim Mead & White, the same archictectural firm that designed the original Pennsylvania Station. When it opened in 1919, it was the largest hotel in the world with over 1,000 rooms. But it was forced to close in April 2020 with the onset of COVID-19 and never reopened. Its contents were auctioned off by the fall of 2021 and in January internal demolition was underway.
The fire on Jan. 18 was the second since it closed. It follows an interior fire on Feb. 7, 2022
Two civilians were transported to Bellevue Hospital and a third victim was taken to Lenox Hill, acording to an FDNY spokesman, who said a total of 126 firefighters and EMS workers responded to the high rise blaze.
The cause of the blaze is “under investigation,” according to the FDNY.