NYC car explosion that injured 7 firefighters was caused by cigarette butt
What a butthead!
A massive, fiery car explosion that injured seven firefighters on a Bronx street Wednesday night was caused by someone’s flippantly flicked cigarette butt, officials said.
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Smoke-eaters were responding to a garbage fire in front of a building between Intervale Avenue and Kelly Street in Longwood around 7:06 p.m. when a car suddenly exploded, sending a colossal fireball into the sky, according to the FDNY.
The blast was captured in jaw-dropping footage that shows billowing flames and plumes of smoke towering over the street.
Seven FDNY firefighters were injured by the blaze and taken to Jacobi Hospital for evaluation. Five of the first responders were treated for serious burns to their arms and faces, the department said.
Fire marshals have since determined that the inferno was caused by the “careless disposal of a cigarette butt” that ignited a chain reaction, Chief of Department John Esposito said in an update Thursday.
The trashed bogie set some nearby garbage on fire, and the flames spread to a parked car, he said.
That ignited the vehicle’s gas tank, causing the “major” fireball explosion that was captured in the wild clip, he said.
The terrifying footage showed residents fleeing from the swelling flames that soared above the block.
No civilians were wounded. Only the seven firefighters suffered injuries.
“We are thankful that all of these injuries are not life-threatening and that our members are expected to make a full recovery,” Esposito said.
“If you’re smoking, don’t flick your cigarette butts. We remind all New Yorkers to properly extinguish cigarettes before throwing them out,” the chief said.
The fire was under control by 8:19 p.m. Wednesday, officials added.
Pictures of the aftermath showed the hollowed-out frame of the car that exploded and the sidewalk littered with trash.
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