By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- A five-alarm structure fire on August 5 destroyed a five-story apartment building in Norwood after a suspected gas explosion, killing one person and injuring 14 others including six firefighters.
- FDNY personnel responded within three minutes to the building at East 209th Street near Parkside Place and used a tower ladder to rescue a child from a fire escape during heavy fire and structural collapse conditions.
- Investigators suspect a gas leak triggered the explosion that occurred around 12:30 p.m. on the building’s second floor, blowing out window frames and apartment doors and sending debris across the street; tenants reported smelling gas in the building before the fire.
- The blaze spread to three floors and caused the building’s third floor to collapse; a 40-year-old man was found dead on the collapsed third floor.
- The Red Cross assisted 45 people from 18 households, including seven children, with temporary lodging and emergency financial assistance; fire marshals had not yet entered the destroyed building to determine the exact fire origin as of Wednesday evening.
NEW YORK, N.Y. — A suspected gas explosion sparked a major structure fire on August 5 in a five-story apartment building in the Bronx, resulting in one fatality and multiple injuries as firefighting crews conducted rescue operations under extremely hazardous conditions.
The fire broke out approximately 12:30 p.m. at an apartment building located on East 209th Street near Parkside Place in the Norwood neighborhood. Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore and Chief of Department Joe Esposito responded to the scene.
The explosion occurred on the building’s second floor and resulted in significant structural damage. The blast force blew out window frames and apartment doors, sending debris and window frames across the street. Surveillance footage obtained by local media documented the explosion and showed pedestrians being struck by flying debris.
FDNY personnel arrived at the scene within three minutes of dispatch and encountered heavy flame conditions. Esposito stated that the explosion created extremely dangerous conditions for firefighting operations and made fire confinement difficult while personnel conducted rescue searches.
“There was some sort of explosion. It blew out window frames, it blew some of them across the street, and when our members got up to the second floor, some of the apartment doors had been blown off their hinges,” Esposito stated. “This makes it very difficult to confine the fire while we’re also conducting searches.”
“It was a very unusual and an extremely dangerous position for our firefighters,” Esposito added.
The fire spread to three floors of the building. As the fire advanced, the building’s third floor collapsed. A 40-year-old male resident was located deceased on the collapsed third floor. The victim was located in a collapsed section of the building, and his body was removed and secured until the fire was controlled and the Medical Examiner’s office could claim the remains.
Firefighting crews used a tower ladder to conduct rescue operations and successfully removed a child from a fire escape during active fire conditions. Fourteen people sustained injuries during the fire, including two individuals with critical injuries. Six firefighters were among the injured personnel. All injured individuals were transported to local hospitals.
The fire was brought under control at 3:30 p.m., though small fires reignited throughout the afternoon. The fire was fully extinguished by Wednesday evening.
Investigators suspect that a gas leak triggered the explosion. Multiple building tenants reported smelling gas in the structure before the fire occurred. One resident stated that he smelled gas and was checking his residence for leaks approximately one to two hours before the explosion occurred.
The building contained 27 apartments. As of Wednesday evening, fire marshals had been unable to enter the destroyed structure to identify the specific fire origin point.
The Red Cross established a relief center at P.S. 56, approximately two blocks from the fire location, where 45 people from 18 households, including seven children, sought emergency assistance including temporary housing and emergency financial aid.
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation pending completion of fire marshal examination of the building structure.