A massive fire at a Westbury facility that took several hours to get under control caused confusion and delays on the Long Island Rail Road Thursday morning.
The fire was burning next to the train tracks, causing service disruptions on the Long Island Rail Road.
In a statement Thursday night, the LIRR warned of possible delays and cancellations Friday morning on some branches. It said, " Due to continuing cleanup efforts at the site of a massive warehouse fire in Westbury, Friday morning customers on the Huntington/Port Jefferson & Ronkonkoma branches are advised to allow extra travel time and expect possible delays and cancellations. Firefighters continue to uncover & address hotspots, and must remove a compromised wall adjacent to the tracks. As efforts to fully extinguish the fire are expected to continue throughout the day, it may be necessary to reduce AM peak service and continue single-track operations at reduced speeds to ensure the safety of our customers, workforce and the brave firefighters. Before traveling, check mta.info or consult the LIRR Train Time app. We will keep you updated."
The Hicksville station was the site of pandemonium Thursday morning, where some commuters say apps misled them about the service situation, leading them to think trains were still running out of affected stations.
News 12 cameras caught people pulling up to the station, only to be turned away.
LIRR President Phil Eng says his team put a message of the service suspension on the TrainTime app and online "right away." He asked commuters to use the TrainTime app and not others in order to get the best information.