Fire engulfs section of popular Manhattan holiday market

NEW YORK — An outdoor holiday market in New York City’s Bryant Park briefly caught fire Friday morning, sending flames and plumes of smoke over the popular Midtown Manhattan tourist attraction as firefighters rushed to extinguish the blaze.

No one was injured in the fire, which started in a part of the market just after 9 o’clock, a spokesman for the city’s fire department said. At least four shops were burned in the fire, which also damaged the roof of an adjacent skating rink, the spokesman said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. At least some of the affected stores served food.

Pictures from the scene showed dozens of firefighters surrounding the charred remains of several timber-framed stalls.

The long-running open-air market features hundreds of food and merchandise vendors. It draws hordes of holiday tourists to the park between Times Square and Grand Central Terminal during the holiday season.

The fire comes less than two weeks after a fire tore through another midtown Manhattan holiday market in Herald Square, destroying eighteen stalls. Authorities said the fire was caused by an electrical problem.