Hudson ferry boat fire extinguished, passengers safe, dropped off at Edgewater terminal

An engine room fire aboard a New York Waterways ferry has been extinguished, with no calamity. Another vessel pushed the ferry into a bulkhead in Edgewater so the passengers could get off.

Jerry DeMarco

01/26/2011 4:44 p.m.

No serious injuries were immediately reported, although one person was taken to a hospital and treated for smoke inhalation, a state official said.

The fire broke out at 10:17 a.m. near Edgewater, New Jersey State Police Lt. Kevin Fowler of the Newark Bay station reported. The water taxi was 30 or so yards from shore, with more than two dozen passengers and crew members aboard.

Among those responding were emergency personnel from NJ State Police Bay Station, NYPD Marine Patrol, and local police and firefighters.

The North Hudson Regional Fire Department extinguished the fire, and the ferry was pushed to the Weehawken docking station, just south of the terminal there.

“The fire has been extinguished and all of the passengers have been off-loaded,” Fowler announced, just after 10:30. No life-threatening injuries have been reported at this time.”

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