Penn Station's bustling subway platforms in New York City faced disruptions after an underground three-alarm fire engulfed two levels of a construction site on the Long Island Rail Road concourse.
Firefighters told
WNBC-TV the blaze began shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, causing two different subway lines to bypass the station. Service was restored by 5:30 a.m. but problems continued through the morning.
More than 150 firefighters responded to the blaze on two levels of the construction site, said Fire Chief James Leonard.
Firefighters "braved very tough conditions going down there" and encountered an "extensive amount of fire," Leonard told the
New York Daily News. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Fire officials believe the blaze started in a "construction shanty" in the west end of the Long Island Rail Road area of the station where a new exit is being built as part of Amtrak's Moynihan Station project.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Salvatore Arena told the Daily News that the west end concourse was damaged and was closed off, but there was no damage to LIRR operations except for water on some tracks.
Empire State Development told WNBC-TV that construction at the site should start again soon.
Many on social media reported the Penn Station fire as "suspicious" before the fire marshal's determination that it was accidental.
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