A fire at a construction site caused the Statue of Liberty to be evacuated on Aug. 27.
Firefighters worked for two hours to put out a blaze after a propane tank caught fire at a construction site on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, CBS News reported. According to Jerry Willis, a National Park Service spokesperson, the tank was situated about 100 to 200 yards from the statue, near two to three other tanks. However, the tank did not explode.
Although the New York City Fire Department said more than 3,000 people were evacuated, those on Liberty Island were not, and the statue did not sustain any damage, CBS News reported.
"You had no choice [to evacuate the statue], with that much propane, a bleve – which is one of the tanks – exploding would've been a catastrophic," said Chief Roger Sakowich, according to CBS New York. "Anybody near it, scrap metal would've been flying from quite some distance, and tremendous balls of fire when a propane tank does explode like that."
Willis said one construction worker was injured, but they were treated and then released at the scene.
