Firefighters put out a fire that erupted on the fourth floor of an office building on 99 University Place Wednesday evening near the School of Professional Studies building on East 12th Street. No one was seriously injured.
Two people suffered from smoke inhalation and were sent to Mount Sinai Beth Israel, according to the FDNY’s EMS division.
The fire broke out at around 4:35 p.m., according to the FDNY, and was contained around an hour later.
The building hosted Yoga Vida studios on the sixth floor. In the midst of the fire, attendees of a yoga class at the studio were forced to evacuate, ash marks covering their hands.
The experience was terrifying for class attendee Aurora Estner, a retired chef. Some were still trapped in the building as the smoke intensified, according to Estner.
“Once we saw the smoke, we started running out,” Estner said. “Half the group was able to go down the stairs but the smoke became intense, and the firefighters told the rest of the group to go upstairs. Some of us couldn’t get down.”
Once she heard that a fire erupted, Victoria Vega, an instructor at Yoga Vida, made her way to University Place to ensure her employees were safe.
“I was making sure everyone was out of the studio,” Vega said. “I was nervous that my employees didn’t get out as the fire was going on.”
Email Meghna Maharishi at [email protected].
