The tenement building at 538 East 14th Street is the scene of an early-morning blaze this East Village Sunday (the second on this block recently). Residents evacuated to 14th Street as shouts of “fire!” broke up the quiet morning hour. Lots of smoke but no visible flames pouring out of Otto’s Shrunken Head, the building’s longtime street-level tiki bar. Big emergency response, including Alphabet City’s own 11 Truck, and the smoke cleared in about 20 minutes with no signs of injuries. Damage to Otto’s, and its highly flammable supply of high-proof Bacardi rum, is unclear at this moment. DEVELOPING…
UPDATE: EV Grieve reports that an Otto’s employee tried to battle the blaze with a fire extinguisher before FDNY showed up. Still no word on what caused the fire.
