You are reading

FDNY battles three-alarm warehouse fire in Astoria beneath N/W subway line on 31st Street

Firefighters cut holes in the roof of a warehouse alongside the Astoria N/W subway line during a three-alarm blaze that broke out Wednesday morning. (Photo by Lloyd Mitchell)

March 29, 2023 By Bill Parry

Several firefighters were injured while battling a three-alarm fire in a one-story commercial building in Astoria on Wednesday morning, according to the FDNY.

One firefighter was seriously injured and another five firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the fire that tore through the Lion-Aire warehouse at 34-38 31st St., beneath the N/W Astoria subway line, just after 10 a.m. on March 29.

(Photo by Lloyd Mitchell)

Service on the Astoria line was not affected by the blaze, according to an MTA spokesman.

The FDNY response brought 138 firefighters to the scene, with 33 units and 50 EMS personnel responding from surrounding stations, according to the FDNY. The fire was placed under control just after noon, but operations continued into the afternoon.

“We arrived at 10:15 and firefighting units encountered heavy fire. It’s going to be extended operation due to the amount of stock that is in this warehouse,” FDNY Chief Chuck Downey said. “The warehouse is stacked from floor to ceiling with portable air conditioning units. So we [are continuing] to put pockets of fire out at this time.”

(Photo by Lloyd Mitchell)

He added that the amount of stack in the warehouse made it difficult to gain entry.

“Most commercial structures such as this that we’re working on are one-story structures that have a lot of stock that create narrow aisle space,” Downey said.

One civilian suffered minor injuries as a result of the fire, according to FDNY.

EMS transported two of the injured to Mount Sinai Queens Hospital in Astoria and one to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to the FDNY.

Additional reporting by Lloyd Mitchell.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

No charges for 101st Precinct officers in 2024 Edgemere fatal shooting: AG

New York attorney general Letitia James will not be charging four police officers from the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway in the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Geoffrey Parris at the Ocean Bay apartments on Feb. 12, 2024.

Following a thorough probe, her Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which included a review of footage from body-worn cameras, audio from a 911 call, interviews with involved officers, and a comprehensive legal analysis, concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s actions were justified under New York law.

Brooklyn man indicted for fatal stabbing of Flushing sex worker in 2022: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted a Brooklyn man for the fatal stabbing of a Flushing woman after visiting her apartment for sex in August 2022.

Shao Tong Lian, 41, of Sixth Avenue in Park Slope, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on Thursday on an indictment charging him with murder in the second degree for the death of 55-year-old Fang Chen at her 41st Avenue home. If convicted, Lian faces up to 25 years to life in prison.