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Firefighters Battle Brush Fire in Central Park

By DNAinfo Staff on April 13, 2012 4:32pm  | Updated on April 13, 2012 5:10pm

More than 100 firefighters raced to Central Park, near East 106th Street, on April 13, 2012, to battle a brush fire.
More than 100 firefighters raced to Central Park, near East 106th Street, on April 13, 2012, to battle a brush fire.
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DNAinfo/Tuan Nguyen

By Tuan Nguyen and Wil Cruz

DNAinfo Staff

CENTRAL PARK — Firefighters were battling a brush fire in Central Park Friday afternoon, officials said.

The second-alarm fire ignited in the park near East 106th Street just after 2 p.m., an FDNY spokesman said.

Battalion Chief Jim Ginty the wall of flames was about 20 feet high.

More than 100 firefighters were on scene trying to extinguish the blaze.

No injuries were reported.

The cause was under investigation, but firefighters said burning logs — which spread to brush and mulch — may have sparked the blaze, officials said.

"Basically, it was walls of trees knocked down from [Tropical Storm Irene] left here," Ginty said.

By 5:30 p.m., the fire was nearly extinguished, but firefighters were still pouring water on the brush, he added.

A fire broke out at Central Park on April 13, 2012.
A fire broke out at Central Park on April 13, 2012.
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DNAinfo/Tuan Nguyen

"It will take a while," Ginty said.

The brush fire was the latest in the region in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a massive fire at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island smoldered for some 17 hours before hundreds of firefighters managed to get it under control.

That cause of that fire was densely packed mulch, mostly comprised of Christmas trees and trees felled by the summer's tropical storm Irene, marshals determined.

"It's been dry for a while," Ginty said. "We need some rain now."