Early-Morning Escalator Fire at Kennedy Airport Injures 10
The New York Times
The fire was soon extinguished and the injuries were minor, officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Ten people were injured and nearly 1,000 were evacuated after an escalator caught fire at Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday morning, airport officials said.
The escalator, in Concourse C of Terminal 8, started emitting smoke around 7:15 a.m., according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. The Fire Department and Port Authority police officers responded, and about 990 travelers were taken by bus to other areas of the terminal, according to the Port Authority. Eight of the injured people were hospitalized for “evaluation,” the Fire Department said; their injuries were not life-threatening.
Terminal operations resumed later in the morning. The cause of the fire was under investigation, officials said.
Eleven U.S. and international airlines, including American Airlines, British Airways and Japan Airways, use Terminal 8. American Airlines said that three of its 89 total departing flights from the airport on Wednesday had been canceled because of the evacuation.
Departures from the airport were delayed by up to an hour and 30 minutes because of the weather on Wednesday evening, according to FlightAware, a company that tracks flight information. It was unclear whether any of the delays were related to the earlier fire.
