On Tuesday, an explosion and fire that was apparently triggered by a gas leak, demolished several row house apartment units in the Bronx neighborhood of Longwood; killing one resident and injuring nine other people, said authorities. Of those injured, five were police officers who raced into the burning structure to help usher residents to safety.
According to Reuters, video from the scene of the incident posted online shows flames and plumes of smoke outside the three-story building as police officers urged bystanders to move away from the site. The cause of the blast is still under investigation, but FDNY Chief of fire operations, John Hodgens, says “we had a report of somebody who did smell gas” before the explosion. Gas service was shut off for the entire block after the incident, says Mayor Eric Adams who also lauded the actions of emergency first-responders. “We saved lives today,” said the mayor, a former cop himself.
Reuters also reports that Hodgens told reporters that the apartment where the explosion occurred and the two units on either side were destroyed. Two or three other buildings were heavily damaged as well, said Hodgens. One woman who was inside the apartment at the center of the explosion was killed, and her sister was hospitalized with severe injuries, Hodgens said. Both women, in their 60s, were found laying on the ground outside, apparently blown clear of the structure by the force of the blast, reports Reuters. This comes just nine days after the tragic fire that took the lives of 17 people, including 9 children, that happened just a few miles away from Longwood.
