A vehicle burst into flames and exploded into a fireball in Lower Manhattan late Tuesday afternoon, according to ABC 7 Eyewitness News. Pedestrians and tourists in one of New York’s busiest tourist areas scattered as the fire intensified. Though the explosion caught plenty of eyes and terrified onlookers, there were no injuries reported.
The fire was significant enough that the New York City Fire Department needed more than an hour to bring it under control. The smoke was visible from blocks away. The explosion happened in the middle of evening rush hour, near a stretch of Broadway that thousands of people pass through every day.
What the burning vehicle was, and where (precisely, it had been parked) turned out to be the most notable detail to surface in the hours that followed.
As of Wednesday, the cause remained under investigation, though it continued to draw attention for the major spectacle it caused in the city.
The Explosion’s Origin
According to the FDNY, firefighters initially responded to a fire near Broadway and Stone Street at around 5:42 p.m. on May 19. Witness footage showed the car sitting at the side of the road as flames spread across it and then erupted into an explosion. Several clips captured onlookers running as the blast intensified. Firefighters extinguished the flames shortly ahead of 7 p.m.
Who the Vehicle Belonged To
Early footage from the scene showed the burning car appearing to bear markings affiliated with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA later confirmed the vehicle belonged to the agency, referring further questions about the incident to the FDNY, according to reports.
The fire happened on a section of Broadway that sits directly outside the MTA’s headquarters at 2 Broadway. The Charging Bull, Arturo Di Modica’s 1989 sculpture and one of the most photographed objects in Lower Manhattan, sits a short distance up the street and draws thousands of visitors a day.
The fact that visitors escaped injury is a fortuitous stroke of luck.
What Investigators Have Said
The FDNY said the cause of the fire is under investigation. Officials haven’t yet ruled out mechanical failure or other possible causes, according to reports. Despite the size of the explosion, emergency crews kept the fire from spreading to nearby vehicles or buildings.
Unfortunately, there’s no additional documentation about what caused the fire to begin with just yet.