A fire erupted at one of the vendor kiosks at the Bryant Park Winter Village on Friday morning. Part of the popular Bryant Park holiday market caught fire Friday morning, sending smoke and flames billowing into the sky. The flames could be seen shooting from a tent near the park's famed carousel after the fire broke out around 9:20 a.m. At least four shops were burned in the blaze, which also damaged the roof of an adjacent ice skating rink, the spokesperson said.
Officials said the fire was traced to an overheated fryer and fire marshals quickly determined the fire was cooking-related and accidental. It started in the Seapark booth, which offers lobster rolls and seafood fries, and spread to Down the Chimney and 4X4 Burger. Photos from the scene showed dozens of firefighters surrounding the torched remains of multiple wood-framed stalls. The holiday market goes until Jan. 5 and was not scheduled to open to the public for the day until 11 a.m. 'We are grateful for the FDNY's quick response to the incident that occurred earlier today,' a spokesperson for Bryant Park said. 'The Rink and The Lodge are currently open. Most of The Holiday Shops have reopened, and we expect all the Holiday Shops that were not affected by the fire to reopen later today.