An electrical fire in Macy’s Herald Square flagship sent shoppers fleeing the Seventh Avenue side of venerable department store early this afternoon, authorities said.
The fire broke out in the electrical vault in the West 34th Street store’s sub-basement at around 11:44 am, fire officials said.
The retail area was not affected, but shoppers on the Seventh Avenue side were asked to evacuate because the power was shut down, according to Macy’s spokeswoman Elina Kazan. There were no reported injuries.
Firefighters knocked down the blaze at around 12:48 p.m., officials said.
This is the second fire at the Midtown department store in three months.
In the midst of the Christmas shopping season on Dec 20, the store was evacuated for two hours after a small fire broke out under an escalator.