As visitors browsed the shops and sipped drinks, the atmosphere at South Street Seaport Sunday afternoon was just like any other day — except for the charred end of the pier that jutted out into the East River.
The burned pier was the result of a three-alarm fire that broke out at Pier 17 at the Seaport around 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
FDNY officials told Metro old electrical wires under the pier started the blaze, which more than 33 units and 140 firefighters responded to extinguish. Heavy smoke from the flames could be seen as far north as East 14th Street.
The fire broke out as hundreds of people were at the seaport, many of them there for the 4Knots Music Festival. The concert stopped during the fire, as terrified visitors evacuated the pier.
“Fire at south street seaport … I guess going to Beekman Beer garden just wasn’t in the cards,” Ashley Kellam tweeted Saturday afternoon.
The blaze was under control by about 5 p.m. The pier reopened a bit later on Saturday night, and the music festival continued.
Nearly all of the shops are reopened on the pier today, but the end of the pier, between Sequoia restaurant and Express, was blocked off. The tip of the wooden pier was badly burned, and large gaps of missing wooden planks could be seen. Express, at the very tip of the pier, appeared to be the only store closed due to the fire.
Fire investigators are working to determine if the blaze caused any structural damage to the pier.
