Fire Shuts Down Queensborough Bridge

More than 100 firefighters were at the scene

Oct. 18, 2005

2 min read

A smoky fire on the Queensboro Bridge on Tuesday afternoon forced the closing of the two-tier span.

No injuries were reported.

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The blaze, shooting black smoke that could be seen for miles, appeared to have started in scaffolding and a tarp on the upper level of the bridge, which connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens.

The New York City Fire Department said the first call came in at 12:53 p.m., went to a second alarm a few minutes later and to a third alarm at about 1:45 p.m. More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the span, which is also known as the 59th Street Bridge.

Ted Timbers, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said the upper deck was the site of restoration work when the fire erupted. He said traffic was stopped in both directions and all the vehicles were backed off the bridge.

An Office of Emergency Management command post was set up on the Queens side of the bridge, while the fire department set up operations at Second Avenue and 60th Street.

OEM spokesman Andrew Troisi, speaking from the scene, said the fire involved scaffolding that had been erected to paint the bridge. He said the flames and smoke had been knocked down, "but it's still an active firefighting operation."

Another OEM spokesperson, Tara Goodnight, said firefighters initially had difficulty getting water up to the fire, but added that "a relay operation" was in effect to haul it up from the ground.

The steel bridge was completed in 1909 and spans the East River between 59th Street in Manhattan and Long Island City in Queens. It is a city landmark.

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