This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Two civilians and one firefighter were injured in a fire at Trump Tower in New York on Monday morning.

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The fire was reported just before 7am ET. New York City fire officials said it broke out in the building’s heating and air conditioning system.

A fire department statement said: “FDNY confirms three total injuries at fire earlier this morning at 721 [Fifth Avenue], Trump Tower: two civilians with non-life-threatening injuries, both were treated on scene and refused further medical aid. One firefighter with non-life-threatening injury.”

News footage showed firefighters on the roof of the skyscraper, at East 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

Smoke billowed from one corner of the tower for a while before most of it dissipated. About 80 firefighters were at the scene initially and a few remained on the roof about an hour later.

“The fire wasn’t in the building,” said the FDNY’s Manhattan borough commander, Roger Sakowich, in a statement on social media. “It was on top of the building. We had flames coming out of the vents, no smoke condition or fire was on the inside.

“We were able to extinguish the fire without any problems within the building. Everything went according to plan.”

Sakowich added: “Our units got up there quickly, we got water on the fire, which in 19F (-7C) creates more steam and smoke.”

The tower is home to a number of residences and businesses. Donald Trump, who keeps a residence in the tower, was at the White House in Washington DC.

One of the president’s sons, Eric Trump, tweeted: “There was a small electrical fire in a cooling tower on the roof of Trump Tower.” He also thanked firefighters for doing “an incredible job”.