More than three dozen passengers were evacuated after a NY ferry suddenly caught fire earlier this week.
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According to ABC7NY, New York Waterway revealed that its ferry boat, Father Mychal Judge, caught fire around 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday. It was on the Paulus Hook to Pier 11 line and was heading to Paulus Hook and Liberty Harbor in New Jersey.
NY ferry bursts into flames while sailing toward Jersey City, all 37 people rescued pic.twitter.com/DQEhrpMljy
— New York Post (@nypost) August 28, 2024
In response to the NY ferry boat’s situation, a total of 37 passengers were evacuated. They were all placed on a separate ferry.
“A fire on our ferry boat, Father Mychal Judge, this afternoon was quickly extinguished, and the ferry is being safely towed back to port,” the spokesperson for New York Waterway further confirmed. “There are no injuries among the 37 passengers on board.”
A New York City resident was able to capture the incident on video.
Ferry on Fire @CitizenApp
Hudson River Greenway & West St Aug 27 4:46:40 PM EDT
New York Waterway further stated the fire was quickly extinguished and the vessel was safely towed back to port. The company did not reveal what caused the blaze.
The ferry was named after Franciscan friar and Catholic priest, Father Mychal Judge, who served as a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department. Judge was unfortunately killed during the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center while assisting the firefighters in the North Tower.
Judge was also deemed the first certified fatality in the terrorist attack. He was canonized on July 27, 2002, by the Orthodox Catholic Church of America. His title is Saint Mychal Judge or Saint Mychal the Martyr.
Passengers on NY Ferry Recalled Fire Incident
While speaking to PIX11, NY ferry passenger, Cary Broder, recalled the crazy fire situation.
“I looked behind me, and there were orange flames shooting out of the back of the boat,” Broder recounted. “Fortunately, everybody really remained calm. Like, people were obviously scared.”
Broder also stated, “I was fairly certain we were going to have to jump into the river, actually.”
The NY ferry passenger further shared he had another concern during the incident. “I was a little bit panicked, you know,” he shared. “And there were a bunch of people gathered on there. 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.”
Broder is hoping to get his bike back from the ferry soon.