Barge fire on Newtown Creek caused smoke plumes to float over Long Island City

August 30, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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GREENPOINT/LONG ISLAND CITY — A BARGE CAUGHT FIRE ON THE NEWTOWN CREEK TUESDAY NIGHT, causing large plumes of smoke to waft over the small Queens neighborhood of Blissville in Long Island City. The barge was parked near the Sims Metal Recycling facility at 31-26 Greenpoint Avenue when the fire erupted around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Long Island City Post. Over 60 FDNY and EMS personnel were called to the scene. While no injuries were reported, the fire proved tricky to control. It was allegedly extinguished around midnight, Wednesday, but flared up again and before being finally contained by 2 a.m.

The blaze reportedly began from a pile of scrap metal on the barge, and is currently being investigated by the FDNY as of press time Aug. 29. This is not the only strange occurrence around Newtown Creek as of late: there have been three bodies found in it throughout 2024 alone. Newtown Creek is a SuperFund site.

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