NEW YORK (VINnews) — A fire aboard a subway maintenance train at a Manhattan station early Tuesday injured 14 people, including eight Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers and six firefighters, officials said.
The fire broke out shortly before 2:30 a.m. on a southbound work train at the Astor Place station in the East Village, sending thick smoke throughout the station and prompting an emergency response.
Firefighters evacuated passengers after a northbound train arrived at the station during the incident. No passengers were reported injured.
At approximately 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, the FDNY responded to reports of a fire involving a four-car MTA work train at the Astor Place subway station in Manhattan.
Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy smoke at both street and station level from the fully involved vacuum… pic.twitter.com/NxxG3I0KOG
— FDNY (@FDNY) August 4, 2026
According to the FDNY, the blaze originated on a four-car vacuum train used to remove debris, dirt, and other materials from subway tracks. Officials said the fire appeared to be concentrated in one section of the train where debris is collected, though the exact cause remains under investigation.
Subway service on the 4 and 6 lines was temporarily suspended while crews extinguished the fire and cleared the smoke. Service resumed later Tuesday morning, although commuters experienced delays.
The injured workers and firefighters were treated for minor injuries, authorities said.
NEW: Heavy smile poured out of Astoria Subway station in NYC early this morning.
Six MTA workers and five firefighters hospitalized after a second-alarm fire on a vacuum train at subway station in NoHo, Manhattan just before 2:15 a.m.
Video by Dakota Santiago | Licensing… pic.twitter.com/gwHTyQXwB4
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) August 4, 2026