MEXICO CITY (appro).– The explosion of a transformer that served the luxury goods store Tiffany & Co. located on Fifth Avenue in New York, United States, caused dense gray smoke and a fire that did not cause damage to the iconic establishment, reported state councilor Keith Powers.
The store is located in a historic 11-story building built in the early 1900s. It was closed for four years for a half-billion-dollar renovation.
The fire did not spread through the store, but about 100 people were evacuated as a precaution and two people were injured in the process, New York Fire Deputy Chief Joseph Carlsen said.
The fire started around 9:30 in the morning and was already under control by noon.
A spokesman for the Consolidated Edison utility company said the cause of the fire was being investigated.
“It’s happening now: Smoke from the fire below Tiffany & Co in Manhattan is growing. A loud banging sound can be heard. More fire trucks are arriving,” said one Twitter.
Tiffany was founded in 1837 by jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany. In 2021 it was bought by the president and owner of LVMH, Bernard Arnault. It had just been opened to the public after a long remodeling.
The store became famous for the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (Blake Edwards, 1961), adaptation of the novel of the same name by the American writer Truman Capote and starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard.
