Large Fire In Randalls Island Church Injures 4, Billows Smoke

RANDALLS ISLAND, NY — A church building on Randalls Island caught fire early Thursday, injuring several people and spewing large plumes of smoke that could be smelled across the East River.

The church building at 114 Recovery Road caught fire around 1:30 a.m., an FDNY spokesperson said. The red-brick structure is part of the Manhattan Psychiatric Center hospital campus, and can be viewed from the RFK Bridge when looking toward Manhattan.

A total of 138 firefighters responded to the three-alarm blaze, finally bringing it under control just before 4:30 a.m., the FDNY said.

Four people suffered minor injuries, including one firefighter who was hospitalized, two firefighters who declined medical attention, and one paramedic who also declined to be treated, the spokesperson said.

Videos posted to the Citizen app showed smoke emanating from a building next to the church.

In Astoria, Reddit users reported smelling a strong odor of smoke early Thursday — so powerful that one user thought their next-door building had caught fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, the FDNY spokesperson said.