The New York City Fire Department responded to a report in Times Square on Saturday after a billboard went up in flames. In video of the incident, the billboard could be seen spilling debris as it continued to flash ads for data collection, which seems about right for our digital dystopia.
A spokesperson for the FDNY told Gizmodo by phone that it received a call about the incident at 3:07 p.m. local time, at which time firefighters responded to the scene.
Soooo….Times Square is on fire. pic.twitter.com/Px12YKcR0W
— Mia Helena Targaryen (@Mia_TheBlessed) May 18, 2019
Roughly 80 firefighters and 25 units were on hand to battle the blaze and conduct a building search, which the spokesperson said did not turn up any issues. The sign was turned off, and the fire is currently under control.
My Times Square billboard is on fire so some of us have real problems. Omg @SKYYVodka our message of love! ???? pic.twitter.com/R80vZWE0X0
— Trixie Mattel (@trixiemattel) May 18, 2019
One of the ads displayed in a widely circulated video of the fire was for a partnership between Skyy Vodka and Trixie Mattel for the brand’s “Proudly American” ad campaign. The latter honestly seems to be taking this pretty well, all things considered.
1) I’m happy to be in Times Square with @SKYYVodka
2) OMG HELP THEM https://t.co/FO6zE5JT8w
— Trixie Mattel (@trixiemattel) May 18, 2019
“Keep your loved ones close and your billboards closer today,” Mattel tweeted Saturday.
According to the FDNY, there were no injuries and no damage to the building itself. The spokesperson said it was not immediately clear on Saturday how the fire started.
This story is developing and may be updated throughout.