FDNY: 1 dead, 3 others injured in apparent gas blast

An apparent gas explosion and fire in New York on Saturday tore off a building facade and drew more than 100 firefighters to the scene, fire officials said. A gas leak was suspected by authorities to be the cause. Three people on the sidewalk outside, men aged 34 and 27 and a nine-year-old boy, were also injured, officials said.

He said: ‘Earlier today, an explosion took place at a building in the Borough Park neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Officials suspect the explosion originated in an apartment on the second floor.

Another person, who NY1 is told was in the process of moving out of a second-floor apartment, is still unaccounted for.

The 60-year-old victim, whose name hasn’t been released, lived on the third floor of the building, and was found dead in the stairwell.

De Blasio says the incident “shows a few signs of being gas-related”.

‘In light of this, I am directing the State Department of Public Service to undertake an investigation into the cause of this incident’.

Red Cross say the blast displaced 49 people from their homes.

Shimon Fried was about five blocks away when he heard a boom.

Authorities are still trying to track down another person who lived in the building. Chaya Klein, who runs a bakery nearby, said she considered not coming in on Sunday, but she didn’t want to let fear get in the way of her work.

The site sits along a main thoroughfare of the heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood and residents and shop owners said they were eager for answers.

He said: ‘Our responsibility with both the FDNY and when necessary NYPD is to conduct a full investigation.

Three civilians, including a 9-year-old boy, were injured from the blast.

“The only common thread is natural gas and the dangers of natural gas”, said James Leonard, the chief of department for the Fire Department of New York.