Police arrested a man for allegedly starting a fire that disrupted traffic along the Henry Hudson Parkway yesterday. The blaze required 60 firefighters to extinguish. While no one was injured, but the median between the north- and south-bound parkways were blocked for an hour as 12 FDNY units were required to put out the urban wildfire.
The suspected arsonist is a homeless man believed to be emotionally disturbed. The fire was noticed as park staff found the homeless man tending a fire in order to boil a pot of water to wash his clothes. After he fled, the fire spread out of control. Park officials are wondering if the culprit is the same person who set a similar-sized fire at the southern end of Ft. Tryon Park earlier this week.
Drier vegetation and stronger winds contribute to the brush fire conditions and there have been brush fires reported all over the city recently, including on Roosevelt Island, in Queens, and on Staten Island. Here are brush fire safety tips from the FDNY.
