New York City commuters were thrown into complete chaos this morning after a massive fire shut down Grand Central Terminal, causing train suspensions, reroutes, and city-wide gridlock.
Over 100 firefighters stormed the scene after thick black smoke started pouring into the station during the busy morning rush. The shutdown began just after 8:00 am and quickly escalated, grinding all service to a halt across several Long Island Rail Road lines.
According to the FDNY, they received the first emergency call at 8:08 am reporting smoke in the tunnels of Grand Central. What started as a single alarm situation quickly turned into a major fire emergency. Firefighters soon traced the smoke to the transformer room inside the terminal. Officials confirmed it was an electrical fire that had broken out and was filling the underground system with heavy smoke. FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said during a press briefing that crews encountered “zero visibility” conditions while trying to locate the source of the flames.
Four people were hurt in the fire, including three firefighters and one civilian. The civilian suffered minor injuries and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. Two firefighters were transported to Lenox Hill Hospital. Tucker noted there was a “significant amount of fire” in the room where it originated, and it took intense effort to get it under control.
Initially, 60 firefighters were on the scene, but by 10:16 am, a second alarm had been triggered as the situation worsened. This pushed the number of emergency responders over 100, including EMS units. The streets around Grand Central were shut down, emergency vehicles flooded Midtown Manhattan, and the MTA urged people to avoid the area and use alternate routes. FDNY also warned people to expect major traffic backups, road closures, and serious delays in mass transit service.
The shutdown hit Long Island Rail Road services especially hard. Trains across eight different branches, including Babylon, Ronkonkoma, Hempstead, Port Jefferson, Port Washington, Far Rockaway, City Terminal Zone, and West Hempstead, were either canceled or rerouted. Some westbound trains were stopped at Jamaica Station, while others were sent to Penn Station or Atlantic Terminal instead of Grand Central. Port Washington Branch service into Grand Central was suspended altogether.
To ease the disruption, subway lines began cross-honoring LIRR tickets for stranded commuters trying to get into Manhattan. Still, delays and confusion rippled across the city as emergency responders worked to contain the fire and repair crews started assessing the damage.
By noon, the FDNY confirmed the fire had been completely extinguished and control of the terminal was handed back to the MTA and Long Island Railroad teams. FDNY fire marshals are currently investigating the cause of the blaze and evaluating how much damage was done to the electrical systems and surrounding infrastructure.
Even after the flames were out, the aftershocks of the shutdown were still being felt throughout New York City. Streets around Midtown remained congested, and thousands of morning commuters had to find alternate routes or were left stuck in transit limbo. MTA teams are now working around the clock to restore full train service, but there’s no official timeline for when things will return to normal.
This unexpected disaster threw a wrench into the morning plans of thousands of New Yorkers and served as a serious wake-up call about the vulnerabilities in the city’s aging transit infrastructure. For now, officials are urging everyone to stay updated through MTA alerts and avoid the Grand Central area if possible.
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