100 firefighters battle rooftop fire at West Village penthouse

Over 100 firefighters battled flames that erupted on the roof of an apartment building in the West Village on Wednesday morning.

The fire, which began just before 7 a.m. on the roof of a Bank Street building, spread through a patio structure at the top of the building.

"These green spaces are great in New York City. They make use of what would otherwise be unused space, but they can also be prone to fires. People might go out, smoke a cigarette, and drop it. While we don’t know the cause, I’m not suggesting that was it, but it did start on the roof and spread to the penthouse, making it a challenging fire to fight," said Deputy Chief Joseph Schiralli of the FDNY.

The fire was contained to the roof deck and penthouse area.

First responders evacuated the building, while bleary-eyed residents gathered in the morning cold, recounting what they had seen and heard.