Nearly 1,000 evacuated from JFK Airport's Terminal 8 after fire, smoke
Smoke from an escalator fire inside a Kennedy Airport terminal early Wednesday forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people, including nine later treated for minor injuries, the FDNY said.
Video captured at the scene showed a flurry of fire trucks and other emergency personnel and equipment outside Terminal 8 in response to a "report of smoke" at 7:01 a.m., the FDNY said.
The Port Authority, which operates the airport, said the smoke came from an escalator in the terminal's Concourse C. More than 900 people were bused to other terminals, officials said.
Asked how many flights were affected by the fire Wednesday, the Port Authority referred the question to individual airlines. Wednesday afternoon on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kennedy Airport said: “If you’re flying out of Terminal 8, you should verify your flight status directly with your airline.”
Airlines operating at the terminal include American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Iberia, Level, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian.
Steve Burns, a spokesperson for the Port Authority, said four people evacuated were taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.
Burns said terminal operations resumed by 8:15 a.m. The FDNY said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
With Nicholas Grasso
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
