A blaze in the basement of The Atrium, a 10-story luxury residential building at 160 Bleecker St., between Bleecker and Sullivan Sts., that started just before 10 a.m. Wednesday soon was billowing heavy smoke and became a three-alarm fire by 10:30 a.m. Thirty-three fire trucks with a total of 140 firefighters responded. The Bravest knocked down the flames and brought things under control by around 11:30 a.m. A woman who lives on an upper floor of the place was evacuated, above. Not feeling well, she was tended to by an E..T. medic. No one was transported to area hospitals for further medical care, a Fire Department spokesperson said. The fire’s cause is under investigation, but the spokesperson noted, “There was construction going on in the building.” The music venue Le Poisson Rouge is among The Atrium’s commercial tenants. DNAinfo reported that 160 Bleecker has been hit with repeated violations for illegal electrical work and that fire officials said construction materials for the basement’s renovation ignited in Wednesday’s blaze, causing the heavy smoke conditions. Rents in the upscale building start at around $2,900 a month for a studio and around $4,000 a month for a one-bedroom.
