Nearly 100 evacuated after underground Hell's Kitchen homeless encampment catches fire

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Nearly 100 evacuated after underground Hell's Kitchen homeless encampment catches fire
At least 100 people were evacuated after an underground homeless encampment in Hell's Kitchen caught on fire Saturday evening.

HELL'S KITCHEN, Manhattan (WABC) -- At least 100 people were evacuated after an underground homeless encampment in Hell's Kitchen caught on fire Saturday evening.

The encampment was three levels below a hotel-turned-homeless shelter, and 25 feet above the tracks of Amtrak's Empire line.

Two people were hospitalized and three firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Firefighters had to coordinate with Amtrak to ensure no trains would pass through and kill power to the tracks. Then, they struggled to reach the underground location with their hoses.

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