LIRR service resumes at Grand Central after FDNY puts out smoky fire that injured 4

A fire inside Grand Central Madison Tuesday morning injured four people and caused the Long Island Rail Road to suspend service at its new Manhattan terminal for several hours, officials said.

Firefighters were called to Grand Central at 8:15 a.m. and found an electrical fire in a room in the deep basement along the 300-level tracks of the LIRR, FDNY Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said.

More than 100 firefighters faced heavy smoke and battled the fire for several hours before the two-alarm blaze was extinguished before noon, Tucker said. The second alarm brought scores of firefighters and equipment to the scene.

Firefighters located the fire after cutting a roll-down gate. Three firefighters and one civilian were treated for minor injuries, Tucker said, adding, "We’re grateful no one was seriously injured."

The cause was under investigation by the LIRR fire marshal, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said in a statement, adding, "One LIRR power department employee suffered a minor injury."

MTA spokesman Tim Minton said later: "While the investigation into cause is in its early stages, this appears to be an equipment issue limited to a small area inside the station complex that caused limited service disruption." 

The fire, which originated in a traction power substation, necessitated that electrical power at Grand Central Madison be shut off so  firefighters could enter the tracks, MTA officials said.

As a result, the LIRR suspended service into and out of Grand Central for about six hours, with several trains being canceled or rerouted to Penn Station or Atlantic Terminal. The MTA cross-honored LIRR fares on its subways for impacted customers. No related problems were expected for the Tuesday evening commute or the Wednesday morning commute.

About a dozen passengers waited midafternoon on the mezzanine, which remained open. Workers told passengers who asked to go to Penn Station. 

Chris Lascano, a 21-year-old union carpenter in the city for a hospital construction job, hadn’t heard the announcements or seen news of the fire — because he had his earbuds in. He was waiting on the mezzanine, leaning against the marble wall.

"That’s probably why there’s a little less people," said Lascano, who was preparing to figure out alternative means of travel when service resumed. 

The LIRR resumed full service at Grand Central with the departure of the 2:41 p.m. train to Hempstead. 

Tucker said it took "a lot of water" to put out the fire, which made for "absolutely zero visibility" for FDNY personnel battling the blaze.

"Firefighters were met with heavy, heavy smoke and a significant amount of fire when they located the room where the fire was coming from," Tucker said.

Grand Central Madison opened in February 2023, after more than two decades of planning and construction as part of the MTA's $11 billion East Side Access project. The 700,000-square-foot facility gave the LIRR a second Manhattan terminal, and a second set of tunnels under the East River.

Long Island commuters' temporary loss of access to Grand Central Madison came as the LIRR is already operating at reduced capacity in Manhattan. Last month, Amtrak took one of its four East River Tunnels linking to Penn Station out of service for repairs to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. One tunnel is expected to remain shut down through late 2027 at the earliest.