What to Know
- A series of manhole fires shut down a busy eight-block stretch of Second Avenue in Manhattan during Friday's peak AM rush
- One person was hurt, the FDNY said, though there were no additional details on the victim or extent of the person's injuries
- Video posted to the Citizen app showed a heavy emergency response at the scene; traffic cameras showed multiple fire engines as well
Multiple manhole fires shut down an eight-block stretch in Manhattan during Friday's peak morning rush.
The fires broke out around 8:30 a.m.; the city said all lanes of Second Avenue were shut down between East 34th and East 42nd Streets.
One person was hurt, the FDNY said, though there were no additional details on the victim or extent of the person's injuries.
A father who was passing by the scene, taking his 12-year-old son to school in a yellow taxi cab, told News 4 they drove over a large metal plate on the road and he heard a loud explosion. The taxi went airborne, he said. The father said he hit his head on the roof and the taxi driver complained of back pain. The son was OK. It wasn't clear if the taxi driver was the one taken to a hospital, but the father says he managed to get his son to school, then returned to the scene to see if authorities needed a statement from him.
Video posted to the Citizen app showed a heavy emergency response at the scene; traffic cameras showed multiple fire engines and police vehicles as well.
A cause of the fires is under investigation.
