A blaze at the Manhattan switching station of the New York Telephone Company caused what was described at the time as "the biggest and longest burning fire the city had ever seen",[REF] knocking out telephone service on 300 blocks in the financial district and surrounding residences.
NSC-68, the document of the National Security Council that had guided U.S. policy against the Soviet Union beginning in April 1950, was declassified by the U.S. Department of State after almost 25 years [REF].