A fire at a massive storm-damaged office skyscraper in the Financial District yesterday left a firefighter and more than two dozen others suffering from smoke inhalation and sent four to a hospital, the Fire Department said.
The blaze broke out around 9:30 a.m. in the basement of 55 Water St., which houses the Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency, insurer EmblemHealth, the city Department of Transportation and other offices.
The waterfront high-rise was deluged by Superstorm Sandy and is still trying to recover — it remains without power, according to the building’s Web site.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether work on the electrical system played a role in the fire. The cause was under investigation.
In all, 27 people — mostly workers involved in repairs in the basement — were injured in the blaze, which brought dozens of firefighters to the 54-story tower, officials said. Most patients, including the firefighter and a Con Ed worker, were treated at the scene.
Two of four service lines feeding the high-rise have been energized for some time, but work remains on the electrical system, Con Ed spokesman Allan Drury said.AP