Firefighters responded to a two-alarm blaze at an Upper East Side luxury hotel shortly after noon Wednesday and had it extinguished by 1:45.
The FDNY said the fire was burning on the 18th floor of the Sherry Netherland Hotel. A single night stay at the 37-story luxury hotel costs a minimum of $600.
Luckily no one was injured, but no word yet on if the guests are still allowed to stay in their rooms tonight. The FDNY says it’s unclear how the fire started.
“Right now our fire marshalls are on the scene investigating the cause and origin of this fire and we’ll probably be at this operation for quite some time. It’ll be an extensive operation,” said Chuck Downey, an FDNY deputy assistant chief.
Miles Guo, an associate of Steve Bannon — the onetime adviser to former President Donald Trump — was arrested by the FBI at the hotel earlier in the day. But officials have not confirmed any connection between the fire and Guo’s arrest.
Guo, sometimes referred to as Guo Wengui, is an exiled Chinese businessman who lives in an apartment inside the hotel. The FBI says it arrested Guo and carried out law enforcement activity at that location earlier Wednesday.
He was detained for allegedly scamming thousands of his online followers out of $1 billion.
According to the indictment from federal prosecutors, Guo used that money to buy himself and his close family members a 50,000 square foot mansion, a $3.5 million car and a $37 million luxury yacht. He was arrested on several charges including wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.