Firefighters went into Zuccotti Park early Friday morning and removed six generators and 13 cans of gasoline, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on his weekly radio program. Protesters handed the materials over voluntarily, and there were no arrests.

The mayor said that 30 or 40 firefighters went through the park and that there was a substantial police presence on hand as well. But the mayor, who said he had not been there but had spoken with both the fire and police commissioners, praised the protesters for being calm and cooperative.

“You can’t complain when, notified about the safety hazard, the protesters voluntarily took their generators and cans and turned them in,” he said on his program on WOR-AM (710).

A spokesman for the protesters said that the generators had arrived over the past week and had been used to power the protesters’ media and communication operations. They were not used for heat, said the spokesman, Ed Needham, 43.

Mr. Needham said that the fire department had done an inspection of the park on Thursday and had given no indication that there were any code violations.

“We really feel as though we have been betrayed, and our trust has been taken advantage of,” Mr. Needham said, adding: “Our good intentions have been dashed by a mayor and a police chief who have their own agenda and want to see us dissuaded and want to see us go home and disappear.”

But another protester, who gave his name only as Andrew J., and who said he had volunteered as a fire marshal where he lives in Washington State, supported the city’s action, saying he thought that the generators had posed a genuine hazard.

“We didn’t have like a bag of sawdust or even cat litter for dry sweeping in case of” gasoline spills, he said. “I can understand their coming in here and addressing the fire safety concerns.”

A Fire Department spokesman, Frank Gribbon, said that his department had been monitoring the park virtually every day and had previously confiscated fuel from a vendor outside the park in what he called “a sustained effort to make sure the area is safe from fire dangers.” Another Fire Department spokesman, James Long, said, “The concern is that conditions there are unsafe and there is a buildup of tent and debris and combustibles, and then there are generators and fuel containers spread throughout and in violation of fire codes.”

The materials were taken away by truck, the mayor said, adding that people would be able to collect them later, when they left the park. Fire officials said the protesters were given receipts.

An announcement recited to the protesters over bullhorns read as follows:

Good morning. We have become concerned that gasoline and generators in the park are a threat to your safety and the safety of this neighborhood. Gasoline and generators pose a real threat of fire or explosion in Zuccotti Park, particularly given the congested conditions and proliferation of flammable materials that has occurred over the past 5 weeks. City law does not allow for the storage and use of generators and fuel in a manner that threatens public safety, and they need to be removed. Please bring all generators and fuel here so they can be safely disposed of. These materials are being removed to protect the people in this park and the people in this neighborhood in general from fire or explosion. As long as you voluntarily relinquish any fuel and generators that you may have, you will not be penalized in any way. We are not here for any other purpose than to remove these fire hazards and to keep you and the public safe. So in order to save them from being confiscated, please bring the generators and the fuel here. Thank you.

The mayor said that for now, the tents that have gone up in the park in recent days would be allowed to stay. The mayor said the city’s top concerns were safety and protecting the protesters’ First Amendment rights.

“Unless Brookfield wants us to enforce a regulation that they have a right to impose, saying no tents, they can stay there,” the mayor said, referring to Brookfield Properties, the developer that owns the park.

He added, “So far Brookfield hasn’t complained to us and asked us to remove people, so that’s not a consideration.”



Al Baker contributed reporting.