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Early morning fire near Ravenswood Generating Station sends thick black smoke over western Queens: FDNY

An early morning fire near the Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City sent thick black smoke over Western Queens on July 16..
An early morning fire at the Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City sent thick black smoke over Western Queens on July 16..
Photo via Citizen App

An early morning fire at the Con Edison substation adjacent to the Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City on Wednesday sent a thick cloud of black smoke billowing over the Queensbridge Houses that could be seen for miles.

The FDNY received a report of a fire in the Con Edison substation on Vernon Boulevard and 36th Avenue at 4:16 a.m. on July 16 and dispatched 12 units with 60 fire personnel to extinguish the blaze. The firefighters worked with Con Edison personnel to bring the fire under control at 6:23 a.m., according to the FDNY.

There were no injuries reported, and fire marshals will determine the cause of the blaze.

A Con Edison spokesman said there were no power outages associated with the event.

A spokesman for Rise Light & Power, which owns and operates the Ravenswood Generating Station, which is located just south of the Roosevelt Island Bridge from the Con Edison substation, said the fire was relegated to Con Edison’s equipment and property, with no impact on Rise’s operations.

Known as Big Allis to residents of Western Queens, the Ravenswood Generating Station sits on 26 acres along the East River and delivers more than 20% of New York City’s generation capacity. Wednesday’s fire was at the Con Edison substation on the north side of the Roosevelt Island Bridge. File photo by Michael Dorgan