A blaze in some burning trash on a sidewalk in the Bronx spread to nearby vehicles and caused an explosion that left seven firefighters injured on Wednesday night, officials said.
Five firefighters had serious burns on their hands and faces, New York City Fire Department officials said. They were expected to recover fully, according to Dr. Sheldon Teperman, who was treating some of them at Jacobi Medical Center.
The Fire Department received calls about a blaze around 7 p.m. When firefighters reached the scene, on Westchester Avenue, a lot of garbage and debris on the sidewalk and some cars in the street were on fire, John M. Esposito, the chief of the Fire Department, said at a news conference.
“Shortly after we arrived on the scene, there was some sort of explosion, a large fireball,” he said.
The fire appeared to have spread from the trash to the vehicles, Stephen Rhine, a Fire Department spokesman, told reporters.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, Chief Esposito said. Three firefighters were being treated at the hospital on Wednesday night, he added.
The blaze was brought under control by around 8:20 p.m., the Fire Department said in a statement. It was unclear when the firefighters who were hospitalized would be released.
John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news.
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