New Yorkers are often pushed onto the rails in the subway: how to protect yourself on the subway

In New York, cases of passengers being pushed onto subway tracks have become more frequent. As an experienced New York City Fire Department (FDNY) rescuer, Sarinya Srisakul knows how to help people who have fallen on subway tracks. NBC New York.

Learning about Asian woman, who was pushed to certain death in front of a train under Times Square over the weekend, an FDNY fire lieutenant shared her experience on subway safety and what to do if you find yourself in the path of an oncoming train on TikTok.

First council may seem obvious to the old-timers of the metropolis: do not wait for the train near the tracks.

“Being aware of your surroundings is key,” Srisakul says in the first of two parts of his video.

On the subject: New York City subways may install barriers on platforms to protect passengers

Height metro platforms above the tracks is about 1,5 meters, and not everyone will be able to climb on their own. That's why there are ladders at the end of the platforms, the fire lieutenant said. She added that there is a telephone booth where you can contact the dispatcher and ask for help.

Srisakul joined FDNY in 2005 and for more than a decade was the only female Asian firefighter in the department.

“We have helped people on the tracks many times and have been trained on how to work with them safely,” the lieutenant said. Now she wants to arm others with knowledge amid an increase in hate crimes against people of Asian descent.

Third rail is the biggest danger

Srisakul stressed that the main thing to know about subway tracks is the third rail. The electrified rail powers the train with very high voltage, and it can kill if you come into direct contact with it.

If you can't get back to the platform in time before the train arrives, you can hide in the wall. Srisakul says that there are places where you can safely stand and wait for the train to pass. Unsafe areas are marked with red and white hazard stripes.

When attacks on Asians hit the headlines last year, Srisakul spoke of her own experience of the attack while walking home from the train. The lieutenant recalled how her attacker ran away after she started screaming. Srisakul used her story to raise awareness and raise funds for self-defense kits. They will be handed out to Asian and Pacific islanders throughout the city, especially the elderly who cannot defend themselves.

Though it's not clear if the fatal push of 40-year-old Michelle Goh onto a subway track on January 15 was racist. It turned out to be an apparently unprovoked horror that, according to local leaders, could have been avoided with more resources.

Rally with the participation of the governor and the mayor

Police say the man arrested and charged with Guo's murder, Simon Marshal, 61, had at least three previous encounters with NYPD and was likely homeless at the time of Saturday's incident.

At a January 18 rally to commemorate Guo's death, Queens congresswoman Grace Man called on all New Yorkers to stand together. She quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Mayor Eric Adams also spoke at the rally and pledged to send NYPD officers along with mental health professionals to provide the services people need.

Adams held a joint press conference with Gov. Kathy Hokul in his first week in office. Both of them promised to expand the coverage of the homeless in the city's subway system by paying attention to the quality of service. A vital issue is at the heart of Adams' drive to get workers back into the city's offices.