JFK airport fire: Mass evacuation as four hospitalized after black smoke billows into NY terminal

Emergency services have rushed to the scene at JFK airport in New York after a suspected escalator fire sent smoke billowing through one of the terminals.

Pictures from inside the terminal show smoke filling the space making it difficult to see for those trying to get out and also for rescue services. Passengers were left stranded on the tarmac while the situation was dealt with.

The fire broke out at around 7am. Nine people suffered minor injuries and are being evaluated, New York City Fire Department said. Four people were taken to hospital and were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Steve Burns, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.

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Firefighters from the FDNY have confirmed a fire in an escalator with heavy smoke flooding the rear of Terminal 8, Concourse C. Other travelers were left stuck on the planes as emergency vehicles were seen from the windows. One passenger said: "It seems that something happened with an elevator. There is no panic in the aircraft. We are all fine"

Airport officials revealed that some flights were impacted but have since resumed to normal service. Travelers should check with airlines to see if there are lasting impacts on their travels. Around 100 people were in the area when the fire broke out and smoke filled the area.

Terminal 8 handles flights from American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Level, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian.

The cause of the fire is unclear but there are “operations ongoing” to find out, the department said. A spokesperson for the airport said: "Flight operations at Terminal 8 have been impacted. Please check with your airline to determine the status of your flight."

By 9am more than 90 flights at JFK were delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Around 960 individuals were evacuated from the area and relocated to another part of the terminal. Nine people suffered minor smoke inhalation injuries, with four being taken to hospital for further checks.

The FDNY has since inspected the entire terminal which is currently undergoing ventilation. The terminal, occupied by American Airlines, has seen 69 flights cancelled and a further 332 delayed - accounting for 9 per cent of the airline's total flights.

The airport advises passengers to check with their carrier prior to travelling. This comes just days after much of the world faced online disarray as a widespread technology outage affected companies and services across industries — grounding flights, knocking banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air.

At the heart of the massive disruption is CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to scores of companies worldwide. The company says the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows, noting that the issue behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.