A crane fell near the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan on Wednesday after a fire broke out on the construction equipment, but officials say it could have been much worse.
The crane was engulfed in flames before part of it fell to the ground, hitting a nearby building in the process. The New York City Fire Department said that six people, including two firefighters, have injuries. The injuries to the two firefighters are “non-life threatening,” while the four civilian injuries are “minor,” according to the department.
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Just watched a crane fall and pummel a building on the other side of the block! #nyc #fire pic.twitter.com/YFyaurRglN
— Jimmy ?? (@jimmy_farring) July 26, 2023
“As you see from the debris on the street, this could have been much worse. We are extremely fortunate, No. 1, that [it was] not during the busy time of the day — as you know, the Port Authority is here. Many of the buses move through here. We were extremely fortunate,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference.
“We were also fortunate that the men and women of FDNY and our first responders responded in such a manner and properly made the right evaluation of how to look at the fire that we were presented and the crisis were presented and coming up with the right, effective solution to minimize additional injuries,” Adams added.
The first report of the fire to FDNY came at 7:25 a.m. local time, with officials saying the fire started in the engine compartment of the crane. The top part of the crane and a 16-ton load collapsed as firefighters were arriving at the scene. One of the injuries was described as “chest pains” for one of the firefighters.
FDNY units are currently operating at a crane collapse and fire at 550 Tenth Avenue in Manhattan. Please avoid the area of 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue from West 41 Street to West 42 Street. Please use alternate routes and expect traffic in the area. pic.twitter.com/lEc03WwnWd
— NYC Mayor’s Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) July 26, 2023
At a news conference Wednesday morning, fire officials said the fire had been mostly extinguished but that operations are still ongoing. Fifty units, totaling 220 fire personnel, responded to the scene of the fire, according to FDNY.
New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo said the building where the crane fire occurred was an under-construction 54-story mixed-use building, which had all proper permits filed. Oddo said the only previous incident at the site was when construction workers hit a vault during excavation for the building.
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City officials also said the crane operator had attempted to put out the fire when he noticed it, but when he was unable to do so safely, he evacuated from the crane and is OK.
In an alert sent just before 8 a.m. local time, New York City’s emergency notification system warned residents to avoid the area and expect emergency personnel. Nearly 30 minutes later, the city sent an additional alert telling residents to expect “smoke and traffic delays.”
