There are multiple reports of a white van on fire near the Flatiron building in New York City this morning.
The blaze has since been extinguished and traffic is moving again around Madison Square Park, but 5th is closed off between 23rd and 24th. Firefighters and police still on scene and area around the van is roped off with crime scene tape.
Some reports suggest the vehicle "exploded," but this is unconfirmed — Shimon Prokupecz of NBC New York reports that officials say that the van just "caught fire."
Police Officer Douglas Alston told Business Insider, "The driver got out in time" and the vehicle was occupied at the time of the fire. Another police officer said there were no injuries except for one case of smoke inhalation.
Gorka Hernandez, a passerby who was in the seating area across from Madison Square Park, said that maintenance workers evacuated the area just before the van exploded. "Some gas started getting under the car and there was a flame under the car," Hernandez said. "They started screaming, 'get out, get out!'"
Wilson Jimenez, a sanitation worker with the Flatiron 23rd St Partnership, said he noticed the van was leaking and that there were sparks, so he first ran to tell the driver to get out. "There were people just sitting down and a school field trip was walking by," Jimenez told Business Insider. "When people saw the flames they ran."
This video from Instagram user @ShannonAMay shows the scene:
May tells Business Insider that Grey Advertising Agency, located by the fire at 200 5th Ave, has asked all employees to move from the 5th Ave side of the building.
Mashable's Jeremy Cabalona posted this Vine that shows firefighters on the scene:
Business Insider's own Pamela Engel is on the scene and sends this Vine. She says firefighters are giving away little information at present:
Here are some tweets from the scene:
THERE IS A GIANT VAN RAGING ON FIRE IN FRONT OF MY BUILDING. They are evacuating our floors pic.twitter.com/lpfVfSSYEc
— Katy Kelley (@katykelley) July 31, 2013
Exploded van right outside my office building. Stay away from 23rd and 5th ave #flatironpic.twitter.com/Df9mjtYcuK
— Masha D. Murakhovsky (@MashaDaniellePR) July 31, 2013
Huge fire in Flat Iron, white van up in blaze pic.twitter.com/fBTaNhwlcy
— Austin Carr (@AustinCarr) July 31, 2013
Smoke in #Flatiron after a truck caught fire. A cop told me "Is it really worth your safety to take photos?" #NYCpic.twitter.com/EiKwuRm4db
— Jeremy Cabalona (@jeremycabo) July 31, 2013
Anyone know what's going on at #Flatiron right now? #ny#nyc#firepic.twitter.com/gsn7aHr38j
— Tessa Allison (@TessaAllison) July 31, 2013
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