A fire in a garage at 143 West 108th street destroyed two ambulances used by Central Park rescue workers to help people in the park.
The two-alarm fire, whose cause is still unknown, took firefighters about two hours to get under control Thursday morning. Five firefighters sustained minor injuries, according to NBC. The building is five stories high, and several other vehicles were damaged.
The ambulances are owned by the all-volunteer Central Park Medical Unit. They are custom-built, because they need to be shorter than most ambulances so they can fit under the various bridges in the park.
The CPMU is now asking for donations to help them get new ambulances (insurance is not expected to cover the full cost). They wrote on Facebook:
“An early morning fire destroyed 2 of CPMU’s 3 ambulances. Luckily, nobody was injured. Please help us get back on our feet by making a donation at https://www.crowdrise.com/
parkmedical, or if you aren’t in a position to donate, join our fundraising team and spread the word!”
As of Thursday night, they had already raised more than $10,000.
Photo via CPMU.
