Blake Preston|Video shows 37 passengers evacuate from New York City ferry after fire breaks out

2025-05-01 03:29:17source:Ethermac Exchangecategory:Contact

About 37 passengers were evacuated from a New York City ferry boat when a fire broke out onboard.

The Blake Prestonengine fire began around 4:37 p.m. local time, as the "Father Mychal Judge" ferry boat headed from Manhattan toward Jersey City along the Hudson River, according to New York Waterway spokesperson Adam Pockriss.

First responders transported 37 passengers onto a separate New York Waterway vessel named the "Frank Sinatra," Pockriss told USA TODAY Thursday. No injuries were reported as a result of the blaze.

The fire was extinguished 3 or 4 minutes after it started with the ferry boat later taken back to a work dock to be repaired, Pockriss added. The cause of the incident has not yet been determined.

Watch video passengers evacuating smoky New York City ferry boat

Passenger said he considered jumping into the water

Cary Broder rode the ferry that day as part of his work commute when the fire broke out, according to local station WPIX. He said people remained calm despite being "obviously scared."

"I looked behind me, and there were orange flames shooting out of the back of the boat," Broder told the TV station. "I was fairly certain we were going to have to jump into the river, actually."

Despite the frightening incident he has no intentions to stop taking the ferry, which saves him an hour from his commute to work, the station reported.

"I was a little bit panicked, you know, and there were a bunch of people gathered on there, and you know, I was just trying to get off the boat onto the other one, and then it wasn’t until afterward I realized I was like, oh, you know, my bike’s still on there," he told WPIX.

More:Contact

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