We covered it on Thursday, the massive explosion in the Bronx borough of New York City that injured seven firefighters. Coming within hours of democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohram Mamdani’s electoral win, the huge fireball raised eyebrows.
Turns out the cause wasn’t all that sinister, according to the FDNY. We all know by now that smoking is bad for you, but I confess I didn’t know a routine cig could be this bad for you:
A massive, fiery car explosion that injured seven firefighters on a Bronx street Wednesday night was caused by someone’s flippantly flicked cigarette butt, officials said.
Smoke-eaters were responding to a garbage fire in front of a building between Intervale Avenue and Kelly Street in Longwood around 7:06 p.m. when a car suddenly exploded, sending a colossal fireball into the sky, according to the FDNY.
Here’s what the massive fireball looked like (wait for the seven-second mark:
Vehicle explodes in The Bronx, New York, injuring multiple firefighters.
— 0HOUR (@0HOUR1__) November 6, 2025
Day 1 with Mayor Elect Mamdani pic.twitter.com/JTCGjzuBqg
MORE: Breaking: Massive Vehicle Explosion Rocks Bronx, Injures 7 Firefighters – What Caused It?
Turns out, however, that according to the FDNY, it was not terrorism, domestic or otherwise, and had nothing to do with the fact that a Marxist ideologue had just stunned the nation by becoming mayor of the Big Apple:
A massive car explosion that injured seven firefighters on a Bronx street Wednesday night was caused by someone tossing a lit cigarette onto the sidewalk, officials say. Two FDNY firefighters remain hospitalized. Five firefighters had serious burns on their hands and faces, New… pic.twitter.com/fwteH7cAxd
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 7, 2025
Five firefighters had serious burns on their hands and faces, New York City Fire Department officials said. They were expected to recover fully. Officials said the flames “quickly spread” to a number of nearby cars before a large explosion occurred.
Here’s how it went down, according to the FNDY:
Fire marshals have since determined that the inferno was caused by the “careless disposal of a cigarette butt” that ignited a chain reaction, Chief of Department John Esposito said in an update Thursday.
The trashed bogie set some nearby garbage on fire, and the flames spread to a parked car, he said.
That ignited the vehicle’s gas tank, causing the “major” fireball explosion that was captured in the wild clip, he said.
It’s comforting to know, then, that this isn’t the handiwork of some crazed jihadi or psychotic New Yorker. I am not a conspiracy theorist, and if the FDNY says that’s the cause, then I’m inclined to take them at their word.
That doesn’t mean the incident isn’t bizarre, however. I live in Los Angeles, where car fires are as common as sunsets, and I’ve never seen anything like this. In fact, once I heard yelling outside my house and discovered a Jeep in flames and the freaked-out owner not too far away, having no idea what to do. It was certainly hot and melted our garage door, but there was nowhere near the type of explosion similar to that seen in the Bronx. If there had been, I wouldn’t be writing this right now.
Perhaps the surgeon general should now require warnings on cigarette packs to say, “Warning: May cause explosions.”
I don’t mean to make light of the situation, because it is quite serious and could have led to a much more tragic outcome. Luckily, all the firefighters are expected to make full recoveries, and other than the burnt-out vehicles, there appears to be no significant damage to residences or infrastructure. That being said, it’s pretty scary that such a routine event could cause such an explosive outcome.
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