This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/nyregion/subway-fire-death.html

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
One Person Dies and 16 Are Injured in a Subway Fire in Manhattan Train Operator Killed in a Subway Fire in Manhattan
(about 1 hour later)
A subway operator was killed early Friday after a fire erupted inside a train car at a station along the northern edge of Central Park, officials said. A subway train operator was killed early Friday after a fire that investigators believe may have been intentionally set erupted inside a train car at a station along the northern edge of Central Park, officials said.
The fire was reported as a No. 2 train pulled into the station and a transit employee, who was on the train as a passenger, told the operator that there was heavy smoke and fire in the second car of the train, said Brian McGee, a deputy chief of detectives. The fire was reported as a No. 2 train pulled into the station and the train conductor alerted the operator that there was heavy smoke and fire in the second car of the train, said Brian McGee, a deputy chief of detectives.
When the train stopped at the station around 3:18 a.m., both workers for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority evacuated passengers. But when emergency workers arrived on the scene the operator, Garrett Goble, was found lying on the tracks, officials said. Mr. Goble, 36, was later pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital. When the train stopped at the station around 3:18 a.m., passengers were evacuated by the conductor, operator and another transit worker who was riding the train on his way to work.
But when emergency workers arrived on the scene the operator, Garrett Goble, was found lying on the tracks, officials said.
Officials suspect Mr. Goble, 36, was trying to flee from the burning train into the subway tunnel, when he was overcome by smoke and collapsed. He was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital early Friday morning.
Police were investigating the fire and believe it may be connected to two other fires in the transit system in Manhattan, one at 86th Street station and another at 96th Street station, that were also reported around 3:15 a.m. Friday.Police were investigating the fire and believe it may be connected to two other fires in the transit system in Manhattan, one at 86th Street station and another at 96th Street station, that were also reported around 3:15 a.m. Friday.
A third fire on the street level was reported later in the morning at the 116th Street station.A third fire on the street level was reported later in the morning at the 116th Street station.
“We are devastated by this, this is a hard moment for New York City Transit,” Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit, said at a news conference on Friday morning.“We are devastated by this, this is a hard moment for New York City Transit,” Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit, said at a news conference on Friday morning.
A second subway car stopped just before pulling into the station where the train was on fire and emergency workers evacuated its passengers out of the subway tunnel through an emergency exit, Ms. Feinberg said. As the fire raged, a second subway car stopped just short of the station, after which emergency workers evacuated its passengers out of the subway tunnel through an emergency exit, Ms. Feinberg said.
A photo circulating among emergency workers of the train car where officials believe the fire began shows a shell of a car with blackened walls, melted seats and loose wires hanging from overhead. A photo circulating among emergency workers of the train car shows a shell of a car with blackened walls, melted seats and loose wires hanging from overhead.
Ms. Feinberg confirmed that there was “extensive damage” in that car at a news conference Friday morning. Ms. Feinberg confirmed that there was “extensive damage” in that car at a news conference.
Seventeen other people, including five firefighters, were injured, according to a spokesman for the New York Fire Department. Four people were in critical condition after suffering from smoke inhalation, and another person was in serious condition but the injuries were not life-threatening. The five firefighters suffered minor injuries. News of the fatal incident shook the community of transit workers Friday morning, and devastated Mr. Goble’s family.
“My heart is broken,” his cousin, Yolanda Strudwick, said in a phone interview.
Mr. Goble grew up in Brooklyn and spent many of his summers in Jamestown, N.Y., a city in the western part of the state near the Pennsylvania border, with his grandparents and a gaggle of other family members, she said.
She describes him as a “social butterfly,” who always made the people around him laugh and who would do anything for his wife and two young sons, an 11-year-old and a 5-month-old.
“He would give the shirt off his back to those he loved, even to strangers as we can see today,” Ms. Strudwick said. “For him to do this and risk his life for someone he didn’t know, that’s just the kind of person he was.”
Seventeen other people, including five firefighters, were injured, according to a spokesman for the New York Fire Department. Four people were in critical condition after suffering from smoke inhalation, and another person was in serious condition but the injuries were not life-threatening Friday morning. The five firefighters suffered minor injuries.
More than 100 emergency personnel responded and the fire was brought under control at about 3:50 a.m., he said. At about 6:45 a.m. firefighters were still working to extinguish the flames.More than 100 emergency personnel responded and the fire was brought under control at about 3:50 a.m., he said. At about 6:45 a.m. firefighters were still working to extinguish the flames.
Video from outside the station shows plumes of black smoke pouring out of the sidewalk grates as the fire raged in the early morning.Video from outside the station shows plumes of black smoke pouring out of the sidewalk grates as the fire raged in the early morning.
It is unclear how the fire began or whether it started inside or outside the car, said Lieutenant Thomas Antonetti, a spokesman for the New York Police Department.It is unclear how the fire began or whether it started inside or outside the car, said Lieutenant Thomas Antonetti, a spokesman for the New York Police Department.
“That’s what they’re trying to ascertain,” he said of the fire investigators on the scene Friday morning.“That’s what they’re trying to ascertain,” he said of the fire investigators on the scene Friday morning.
No arrests have been made, according to the police, who are investigating the incident as a criminal matter and are looking into the possibility that the fire was set intentionally. Police say no arrests have been made but they are investigating the incident as a criminal matter and are looking into the possibility that the fire was set intentionally.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subway, wrote on Twitter at 3:24 a.m. that it was trying to remove a train from service at the station, and then said that it had “removed power on all tracks to allow the Fire Department to extinguish a fire” there. On Friday afternoon, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subway, announced that it was offering up to $50,000 for information that could help police identify anyone who may be responsible for the fire.
The agency suspended some service on the No. 2 and No. 3 lines Friday morning, with delays on the No. 4 and No. 5 lines as well.The agency suspended some service on the No. 2 and No. 3 lines Friday morning, with delays on the No. 4 and No. 5 lines as well.
The fatal fire comes at a particularly painful time for the transit agency: The operator killed Friday morning was the third death among the transit authority’s front line workers in the past 36 hours. The fatal fire comes at a particularly painful time for the transit agency: The train operator killed Friday morning was the third death among the transit authority’s front line workers in just 36 hours.
On Thursday, a 61-year-old bus operator, Oliver Cyrus, and a 49-year old train conductor, Peter Petrassi, died from the coronavirus, according to transit union officials. As of Wednesday, 52 transit workers had tested positive for the virus.On Thursday, a 61-year-old bus operator, Oliver Cyrus, and a 49-year old train conductor, Peter Petrassi, died from the coronavirus, according to transit union officials. As of Wednesday, 52 transit workers had tested positive for the virus.
“For this to happen, after we lost two of our union brothers to the coronavirus, is hard to comprehend,” said Tony Utano, president of the Transit Workers Union Local 100 which represents the majority of the city’s transit workers. “These may be the darkest days that TWU Local 100 has gone through.”“For this to happen, after we lost two of our union brothers to the coronavirus, is hard to comprehend,” said Tony Utano, president of the Transit Workers Union Local 100 which represents the majority of the city’s transit workers. “These may be the darkest days that TWU Local 100 has gone through.”
Edgar Sandoval contributed reporting. Maria Cramer and Edgar Sandoval contributed reporting. Alain Delaqueriere contributed research.