McBain empties after Deluxe fire

An electrical fire that originated on a sign above Deluxe Restaurant on 113th Street and Broadway, forced residents of McBain—which is adjacent to the building—to evacuate for approximately an hour Wednesday morning.

The awning of the restaurant on the ground floor caught fire, according to student witnesses and firefighters.

“It looked like there was an electrical fire caused by the restaurant sign,” a firefighter on site said at 2:30 am.

Jeremy Grossman-Greene, CC ’12 and a resident of McBain 212—the corner room on Broadway and 113th Street—said that he smelled smoke and pulled the fire alarm at 1:55 a.m. on his floor, prompting approximately five fire trucks to arrive.

“The firefighters opened my window with an axe ,” Grossman-Greene said. “They had to break part of the window and chopped down part of the shutters.”

Several fire fighters climbed through students’ windows.

Students in rooms near the source of the fire said that they were not even aware that there was a fire until someone on the street notified them.

“I had opened my window earlier and started smelling smoke in the room,” Stephen Luban, CC ’12, said, who lives in Room 322, directly above where the fire began. “We heard a girl outside screaming ‘fire, fire,’ and then I realized there was a huge fire right below me.”

Students were told that they would not be allowed back in for at least three to four hours, but they were permitted to reenter the building shortly before 3:00 am.

Students assessing the damage on the second floor said that it was mainly limited to several broken door locks and a little bit of water.

According to residents with damaged locks, housing representatives said the locks will soon be replaced.