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 above the popular midtown Manhattan tourist draw as firefighters rushed to put out the blaze.

No one was injured in the fire, which began in a section of the market just after 9 a.m., according to a spokesperson for the city's fire department. At least four shops were burned in the blaze, which also damaged the roof of an adjacent ice skating rink, the spokesperson said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. At least some of the impacted shops were serving food.

Photos from the scene showed dozens of firefighters surrounding the torched remains of multiple wood-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 over the holiday season.

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