Macy's Store Evacuated After Electrical Fire

Hundreds of shoppers were evacuated from Macy's department store in Herald Square yesterday afternoon after a small fire broke out in an unused utility elevator.

Employees and customers left the 34th Street store in droves, after a fire on the first floor sent smoke into the rest of the nine-story building. No one was injured, although authorities closed some nearby streets to vehicles.

The fire broke out around 4:30 p.m. inside an abandoned elevator shaft that had not been used in decades, a spokesman for the Fire Department said. The spokesman described it as a small rubbish fire, and said the fire was under control before 6 p.m.

Fire marshals will investigate the cause, which is not considered suspicious, he said.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Macy's – which held its annual Columbus Day sale yesterday – said no one was ever in danger. The nine-story building was reopened at 6:15 p.m.