Subway fire injures 12 and forces passenger train evacuation
NEW YORK, N.Y. — A pre-dawn fire aboard an MTA work train filled the Astor Place subway station with heavy smoke Tuesday, forcing firefighters to evacuate a passenger train and leaving 12 people injured.
The FDNY responded at approximately 2:15 a.m. to reports of a fire involving a four-car MTA work train at the Astor Place subway station in Manhattan.
When firefighters arrived, they encountered heavy smoke at both street level and inside the station from a fully involved vacuum train operating below ground.
According to the FDNY, crews deployed handlines to extinguish the fire, supplied the train’s onboard sprinkler system and conducted primary and secondary searches.
Firefighters also evacuated a northbound passenger train that entered the station during the incident while simultaneously searching both trains and battling flames inside one of the vacuum train’s filter compartments.
A total of 12 people were injured, including five firefighters and seven civilians, according to the FDNY. The extent of the injuries was not immediately released.
FDNY personnel worked alongside the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Police and New York City Emergency Management to extinguish the fire, remove the work train from the tunnel and restore subway service.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Key Points
- A fire aboard an MTA work train filled the Astor Place subway station with heavy smoke.
- Twelve people were injured, including five firefighters and seven civilians.
- Firefighters evacuated a passenger train while battling the underground blaze.
