New York Public Library main branch evacuated after fires erupt in outdoor trash cans

The New York Public Library’s main Manhattan branch was evacuated Thursday morning after multiple trash cans were set on fire outside the famed Beaux Arts building, authorities said.

The NYPD Bomb Squad was dispatched to the scene, but it was determined that a suspicious device was not explosive, according to cops.

Around 8:17 a.m., a man was captured on surveillance footage throwing a heavy-duty electromechanical device that resembled a timer into a garbage can at 41st St. and Fifth Ave., according to the head of NYPD’s Counterterrorism Division, Assistant Chief Judith Harrison.

It’s unclear where the device, which can be used for outdoor lighting arrays, originally came from, she said.

At about 9:15 a.m., a woman was caught on video throwing what appeared to be a lit cigarette into the same garbage can, Harrison said.

“That woman, it looks like she discards that cigarette, doesn’t even think about it. She keeps walking and the next thing you know, it ignites,” the assistant chief explained.

Neither the man nor woman appeared to be “doing any furtive movement” and they did not seem to be together, Harrison said.

An hour after the first blaze, another garbage can caught fire at 42nd St. and Fifth Ave. when a second passerby tossed a lit cigarette into that can, Harrison said.

“While I’m very happy to see people discarding garbage into receptacles, when they’re discarding lit cigarettes into these receptacles — especially in the hot weather — it’s becoming a problem,” Harrison said.

Students on tour, book borrowers, tourists and librarians were ushered out of the building with a loud warning signal and an announcement to leave.

“It’s nerve-wracking. We don’t know what’s going on — just that we have to get out. When you hear that announcement, you know something’s up,” research librarian Diana Tan, 39, said.

Ash Acevedo said that she was still shaken by the experience.

“I still am afraid. That kind of announcement is rare,” said Acevedo. “We’ve been hearing pieces here and there and piecing together what we’ve heard. Just kinda waiting. Playing the waiting game.”

Library spokeswoman Jennifer Fermino said police asked the library staff and patrons to clear the building as a precaution.

Officers also diverted traffic away from the area as the library was evacuated, Harrison said.

There was no damage to the library, a landmark building with two marble lions — Patience and Fortitude — the standing sentry outside.

There were no reported injuries.