Six people died, including five employees and one firefighter. Three of the victims had been trapped on the roof while trying to escape. The money in the vaults, appraised at $385 million, was unscathed. Though the building was not covered by insurance policies, Equitable suffered a relatively small loss, since the building was valued at less than $3 million, the amount the company had saved by self-insuring its properties. Damage was estimated at $2 million, but the structure was considered "no asset"—it was worthless because of the high demand for vacant land in the Financial District. Most of the losses were in the value of the building's law library. The land was actually worth more after the fire than beforehand.
