Fire Damages Unfinished Hospital Tower at NYU Langone Medical Center
A two-alarm fire broke out at NYU Langone medical center on the east side of midtown Manhattan about noon on Dec. 14, 2016.
Photo by Tom Sawyer/ENR
A fire broke out at a hospital tower under construction at the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City on Dec. 14, after a spark from metal cutting ignited construction materials. The NYC Dept. of Buildings issued a safety violation, with a fine expected to follow.
The fire began on a seventh-floor setback of the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion of New York University’s Langone Medical Center. The Kimmel Pavilion is an 830,000-sq-ft, 20-story hospital tower under construction. Completion is set for 2018. According to an NYU Langone spokesman, the fire was limited to the jobsite and did not spread to the occupied, adjacent hospital building.
Turner Construction is the project’s construction manager. “Material caught fire on the seventh-floor setback of the building,” Turner spokesman Christopher McFadden told ENR. “The New York City Fire Dept. and other first responders were immediately notified. The area was safely evacuated, and the fire was under control and extinguished within the hour.”
The NYC Dept. of Buildings filed a stop-work order for “hot work” on the site and issued a safety violation. According to the DOB, specific fines or penalties will be determined at a later hearing.
The text of this article was updated Dec. 20, 2016 to reflect new information.
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