Moment manhole shoots fire onto street as terrified pedestrians run
Manholes exploded – with fire – in terrifying incidents that sent pedestrians running in a Brooklyn neighborhood.
A video shared on the safety network app Citizen showed cars driving on a street in the Bushwick neighbourhood shortly before 5.30pm on Thursday when a column of flames shot up from a manhole.
In the clip, a bright orange plume was seen from a distance and it cut out as the person recording it appeared to duck for cover.
The burst happened as a firefighter moved a barrier on Central Avenue between Myrtle Avenue and Stockholm Street. The firefighter was on site because the New York City Fire Department was investigating reports of higher than normal levels of carbon monoxide, WABC reported.
No one was injured from the sudden eruption.
Con Edison, which supplies energy in New York City, responded to the scene.
However, two hours later, another manhole less a mile away spewed fire, at Lewis Avenue and Pulaski Street.
A video posted to the Citizen app showed flames coming from inside the manhole and spreading across the street and encroaching on businesses and vehicles.
About 60 firefighters and first responders rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze before it hurt anyone or caused any property damage. More Trending
It happened a week after two other manhole fires occurred on Remsen Avenue in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighbourhood and knocked out power to five buildings and caused a small gas leak that forced evacuations, according to WABC. Con Edison said it was caused by an electrical fire.
It happened three months after a series of manhole explosions – without fire – just missed hitting a grandmother and her two grandchildren who were walking on a sidewalk after an Easter egg hunt in Poughkeepsie, which is about 80 miles north of Manhattan.
New York City has roughly 350,000 manholes across its five boroughs that cover a network of underground cables and gas lines. The cables are prone to overheating from air conditioner use in the summer and can cause the manhole explosions.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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a day ago
- Metro
Moment manhole shoots fire onto street as terrified pedestrians run
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Manholes exploded – with fire – in terrifying incidents that sent pedestrians running in a Brooklyn neighborhood. A video shared on the safety network app Citizen showed cars driving on a street in the Bushwick neighbourhood shortly before 5.30pm on Thursday when a column of flames shot up from a manhole. In the clip, a bright orange plume was seen from a distance and it cut out as the person recording it appeared to duck for cover. The burst happened as a firefighter moved a barrier on Central Avenue between Myrtle Avenue and Stockholm Street. The firefighter was on site because the New York City Fire Department was investigating reports of higher than normal levels of carbon monoxide, WABC reported. No one was injured from the sudden eruption. Con Edison, which supplies energy in New York City, responded to the scene. However, two hours later, another manhole less a mile away spewed fire, at Lewis Avenue and Pulaski Street. A video posted to the Citizen app showed flames coming from inside the manhole and spreading across the street and encroaching on businesses and vehicles. About 60 firefighters and first responders rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze before it hurt anyone or caused any property damage. More Trending It happened a week after two other manhole fires occurred on Remsen Avenue in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighbourhood and knocked out power to five buildings and caused a small gas leak that forced evacuations, according to WABC. Con Edison said it was caused by an electrical fire. It happened three months after a series of manhole explosions – without fire – just missed hitting a grandmother and her two grandchildren who were walking on a sidewalk after an Easter egg hunt in Poughkeepsie, which is about 80 miles north of Manhattan. New York City has roughly 350,000 manholes across its five boroughs that cover a network of underground cables and gas lines. The cables are prone to overheating from air conditioner use in the summer and can cause the manhole explosions. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Ghislaine Maxwell quietly moved out of Florida prison while seeking Trump pardon MORE: What is 'flysky', the new lethal drug that could be the new fentanyl MORE: White House reveals £151,000,000 plans for a new ballroom
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In time, I replaced it with a Canon D80, which I've had to this day. That camera became my companion, my third eye that saw Gaza and showed it to the world. I documented weddings and funerals, political events, and moments of everyday life. After having my own Facebook page since 2011, I launched another one in 2017 that shares images and videos showing our neighbourhood and traditions. Through the camera lens, I tried to promote peace, awareness, and the values I believe hold our community together. The latter Facebook page has since grown to 67,000 followers. But over the past 20 months, as I documented the latest war on Gaza, my camera captured something else entirely: devastation. I filmed entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble, the suffering of children, and the anguish of displaced families. Recently, the page has served as a platform, not only for people to search for things lost in bombings or displacement, but also to look for missing children and loved ones. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video On one occasion, an autistic child was found wandering around. A group of us cared for him and published a picture on the Facebook page that I hoped would reach his family, since I didn't know who they were. Later that day, the family saw the post and was able to come and they were safely reunited. Lost children are often returned to their families thanks to the page and it brings me happiness in these dark times. Devastatingly, my home was bombed and destroyed in January this year during a strike that killed six children – my nieces and nephews – and injured both my two-year-old son Rayan and me. To make matters worse, I lost all my journalism equipment, except my one camera – my only source of income. Despite two injuries, one to my head and the other to my leg, I kept working. I continued to report, often without protective gear or basic equipment. Many international journalists left Gaza and new ones weren't allowed in. We worked facing the bombing, the hunger, and the despair, with only our cameras and our courage. Then one morning two weeks ago, I woke to the sound of my youngest, Rayan, crying from hunger. His mother had no bread to give him. That moment shattered me. My daughter, Rama, who suffers from a chronic illness called hypocalcemia (a lack of calcium in her blood), was also getting weaker from malnutrition. I felt helpless. So I asked myself: what good is a camera when I can't feed my own child? What's the use of documenting hunger if I too am starving? So I made the offer via Facebook to trade it for a bag of flour. I was desperate. Then something remarkable happened. As people saw my post – strangers, friends, and colleagues – they rejected my offer and instead wrote with messages of support. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Other journalists shared my post and they told others to refuse, with some saying: 'The tool that was meant to convey the truth has been reduced to nothing more than a sack of flour' and 'You deserve a life of ease and comfort for the remarkable work you have done to uplift the community'. They reminded me I was not alone. And so until now, the trade has not happened. Not because I changed my mind, but because others couldn't bear to see me give up my voice as someone who shows the world what we in Gaza are living through. And so I remain, still hungry, still struggling to care for my children, but still holding my camera. I've had to borrow money from friends for flour to feed my children, but the money is running out and there is almost nothing left. As I write this, famine continues to spread in Gaza. Markets are empty. Our bodies are weak. And even if Israel allows a trickle of aid in, we are desperate. None of us, not me, my children, or our neighbours, have eaten bread in days. We stagger through our workdays, documenting the pain of others, only to return home to the same hunger. I don't know what the future holds for me and my family. Every day, we wake not knowing whether we will survive. More Trending But I do know this: I am a journalist. I will continue to tell the truth, even if I must do it with a pen instead of a lens. I am not the only journalist starving in Gaza. I've been injured and lost family, my home, and equipment. I've nearly lost hope. But I have not lost my sense of duty. We are being suffocated by siege, starvation, displacement, bombing, and exile. These are the weapons used against civilians in Gaza. And while the world watches, we are running out of time. There are around 2 million people in Gaza – and we're starving. Please, help us before it is too late. 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But Lazzarini stressed that aid airdrops will not reverse the starvation and added: 'They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians. It is a distraction and screensmoke. More Trending 'A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need. 'Allow the UN including UNRWA and our partners to operate at scale and without bureaucratic or political hurdles. 'At UNRWA, we have the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for the green light to get into Gaza. 'Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper and safer. It's more dignified for the people of Gaza.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: What's stopping Keir Starmer from recognising Palestine as a state? 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