c/o Citizen
The FDNY responded to a fire at an underground homeless encampment on the Upper West Side Tuesday morning. A total of sixty firefighters were deployed to the scene after the report was made at about 11:15 a.m.
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Manhattan *10-75* Box 1084
W 78th St & Henry Hudson Pkwy
HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT FIRE ON THE AMTRAK LINE— NYCFireWire (@NYCFireWire) March 25, 2025
“Smoke was seen coming up through a grate on the street” after the fire broke out along the Amtrak line near 78th and Riverside Drive, Fox 5 New York reports.
“The homeless issue is a very pressing and delicate one, but this is completely unexpected and I couldn’t have imagined that there’d be an encampment right here,” one local told the outlet.
FDNY officials say the blaze was under control by 12:37 p.m. and that trains were paused until operations were completed. Northbound traffic on the Henry Hudson Highway at 79th Street was also blocked, according to FDNY dispatch calls.
.@FDNY Activity: Expect traffic delays, road closures, mass transit disruptions & emergency personnel near Riverside Drive & West 78th Street, Manhattan. Use alternate routes.
— NYCEM – Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) March 25, 2025
“This morning, 16 hoses were stretched to reach a fire in a homeless encampment on an Amtrak rail line just under the 79th street roundabout,” @fdnyfirediary shared in an Instagram post.
It’s unclear how many individuals are living in the encampment, but no serious injuries or fatalities were reported.
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Get them out of there and send them back to their home states to be homeless there!