Fire, Huge Flames and Black Smoke On Queensboro Bridge Right Above Roosevelt Island Earlier This Morning
Image from Heart Ashley
There was a fire on the Queensboro Bridge right above Roosevelt Island this morning. According to WABC 7News:
A smokey truck fire halted traffic on the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Friday morning.
The vehicle is burning on the outbound lower level of the 59th Street Bridge. The first 911 call came in just after 11 a.m.
Black plumes of smoke were seen rising over the bridge....
FRIGHTENING FIRE *Queensboro Bridge in NY *Big rig *Some lanes shutdown (WATCH) http://t.co/7ZaBUPvoum @GaboNYC pic.twitter.com/8LBtX9eZSmRoosevelt Island resident Mary Kay Gisel reports:
— NewsBreaker (@NewsBreaker) August 16, 2013
... when walking my dog. I was near the Octagon, however the flames were so big that I thought it was coming from the Citi building or a building on the island. Lots of black smoke....Resident Bernadette adds:
It was a truck fire. I saw it with my binoculars from the Octagon.Others recounted hearing a loud bang then looking up and seeing the fire on the Queensboro Bridge
Image From Eva Bosbach
Image From Danielle Samon
Queensboro bridge blaze appears to be out after truck caught fire earlier #nyc pic.twitter.com/QdyqTOWZI5 pic.twitter.com/RR6kz9r1De
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) August 16, 2013
According to Pix 11's Greg Mocker:
... FDNY Deputy Chief Roger Sakowich says three occupants in the truck noticed smoke coming from the cab and got out just before the diesel tanks exploded around 11 a.m.CBS New York adds:
A driver who was in a Queens-bound lane when the truck fire erupted described an “explosion” sound on the span just before plumes of smoke engulfed the scene.
“The bridge was shaking and we just ran out of the car,” said one witness, who did not want to be identified....
...The 40-foot tractor trailer burst into flames on the outbound lower level of the bridge around 11 a.m. The fire was put out around 11:40 a.m. No injuries were reported....Huge traffic delays on the Bridge but no service interruption on the Roosevelt Island Tram reported.
UPDATE 8:50 PM - Wilvin Falcon shares these pictures of today's Queensboro Bridge fire as seen from Roosevelt Island
and so does
Olya Turcihin.
2 comments :
The chaos the closure of half of the bridge caused was fun too watch. I wish such incidents would discourage people to leave their cars home.
I was worried the electrical cables on the bridge would burn - which was the cause of the partial island blackout a couple of months ago. Some electrical cables did burn but luckily RI wasn't affected. Perhaps additional/redundant electrical systems have been implemented since then so RI isn't totally dependent on the Queensboro Bridge electrical cables for its power.
It couldn't have been fun either for the drivers stuck on the bridge or for those who could not get on the bridge and had to find another way to get to Manhattan/Queens. The shutdown caused some of the worst traffic jams in Manhattan ever seen. Still, I doubt if the fire will discourage driving - much of which is business or work-related anyway, at least during business hours. The important thing is that there were no serious injuries despite the massive truck fire. The bridge sustained some damage to a support beam as did the electrical cables that caught fire, both which are being checked/repaired per this article from yesterday: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=resources/traffic&id=9208564
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