A gas explosion at an apartment block in the Bronx triggered a four-alarm fire that killed one person and injured 14 others early Saturday, the authorities in New York City said.
About 150 homes in Boston Secor Houses, a public housing complex on Bivona Street, were evacuated on a frigid night as firefighters battled the blaze at the top of a 17-story tower. The residents were displaced as a severe winter storm, forecast to affect most of the United States, edged closer to New York.
Firefighters initially responded to a report of the smell of gas shortly after midnight, officials told reporters early Saturday. The explosion happened while the firefighters were in the building and led to fires across two upper floors. The four-alarm fire burned for several hours before it was extinguished.
Photos and video circulating online showed flames at the top of the building and billowing black smoke. John Esposito, the chief of the New York City Fire Department, described the response as a “very, very dangerous operation.”
After the explosion, the fires spread to multiple apartments on the 16th and 17th floors, he said, leaving firefighters the difficult task of searching for trapped residents. Some firefighters, he said, had been trapped in an elevator for a short time.
One person died in the fire. Of the injured, one person was in critical condition and five people were in serious condition. All were taken to local hospitals. One firefighter sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Officials opened a reception center at Cornerstone Academy for displaced residents in need of shelter or warmth, authorities said, and groups including the American Red Cross have offered support.
The fire broke out as temperatures plunged across swaths of the United States ahead of a winter storm forecast to bring an onslaught of ice and snow. Temperatures early Saturday in the Bronx were hovering around 9 degrees Fahrenheit.
Officials said they would investigate the cause of the gas leak. Boston Secor Houses, built in 1969, had been undergoing renovations. “Our understanding is that gas work was completed and signed off on,” said Leila Bozorg, the deputy mayor for housing and planning, but added that they would need to learn more.
The complex includes four residential towers with 538 apartments and houses nearly 1,180 residents, according to a New York City brief.
Isabella Kwai is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news and other trends.
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