Seven firefighters were injured after a car exploded in New York City on Wednesday night, causing a massive fireball that was recorded and shared on social media.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the New York City Fire Department announced that fire department officials responded on Wednesday night to multiple calls regarding a fire at 955 Westchester Avenue in the Bronx. The New York City Fire Department noted that firefighters discovered “multiple cars and rubbish piles on fire” after arriving at the scene and that seven of the firefighters were injured in an explosion.
“The explosion injured seven firefighters, five of them with burns to the hands and the face. Three of them are being admitted,” New York City Fire Department Chief John Esposito said. “The burns are considered serious, but non-life threatening. Our firefighters are awake, alert and speaking, but they have some serious burns, and we’ll be praying for them.”
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Esposito explained that the injured firefighters were quickly transported to Jacobi Hospital and received “great care” in the hospital’s trauma and burn center.
During a Wednesday night news conference, Esposito told reporters, “There was a lot of garbage and debris on the sidewalk that was on fire. There were a couple of cars on fire. And shortly after we arrived on the scene, there was some sort of explosion, a large fireball.”
Pictures from the scene of the explosion and fireball were shared by the New York City Fire Department on social media.
Addressing the condition of the injured firefighters, Sheldon Temperman, a doctor at Jacobi Hospital, told reporters, “I’ll be worried until they’re all home, but we do expect that they will recover from their injuries.”
“A wall of fire came on them and surrounded them,” Temperman added. “What they were concerned about was their colleagues and their families. And there is a reason why I refer to you folks as New York’s Greatest.”
A video shared on social media shows the explosion and fireball that erupted in the Bronx on Wednesday night.
According to The New York Post, fire department officials confirmed that the explosion and fireball occurred at roughly 7:06 p.m. and that the fire was under control by roughly 8:19 p.m.
While the cause of Wednesday’s explosion has not yet been revealed, Esposito told reporters that the Bureau of Fire Prevention, the Bureau of Fire Investigation, and a hazmat company were investigating the scene of the explosion.
