Investigators suspect that a gas explosion sparked the fatal blaze, FDNY sources said.<\/p>\n
| NEW RESOURCE: Step-by-step command delegation<\/a><\/p>\n Firefighters already facing a \u201chot and humid day\u201d were met by heavy flames at the five-story apartment building in Norwood on E. 209th St. near Parkside Place, where the blast occurred about 12:30 p.m., according to FDNY Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore <\/a>and Chief of Department Joe Esposito.<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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,\u201d Esposito said, adding that firefighters got to the scene within three minutes. \u201cThis makes it very difficult to confine the fire while we\u2019re also conducting searches.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very unusual and an extremely dangerous position for our firefighters,\u201d Esposito said.<\/p>\n Surveillance footage obtained by the Daily News shows the explosion erupting on the building\u2019s second floor, sending glass and other debris rocketing across the street.<\/p>\n In another clip, a man can be seen walking on the opposite side of the street when he ducks, narrowly missing a flying window frame as debris lands all around him. A parked car visible in the frame takes the brunt of the shrapnel, which shatters its rear windshield, the video shows.<\/p>\n Rah Johnson was walking with his wife when they heard a deafening boom and were struck by a torrent of shattered glass.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looked like a tornado instantly hit it. The way it blew like that it seemed like a gas explosion,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cThe glass scraped (my wife\u2019s) ear, and she was bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n Dramatic photos taken from the scene show a firefighter on a tower ladder plucking a panicked child from a fire escape. Fourteen people were injured \u2014 two critically \u2014 in the blaze and taken to local hospitals. Six firefighters were among the injured, officials said.<\/p>\n Multiple people had to be rescued as the fire spread to three floors, causing the building\u2019s third floor to collapse, according to Bonsignore.<\/p>\n A 40-year-old man was found dead on the building\u2019s third floor, which had collapsed as the fire raged, according to firefighters at the scene. The man\u2019s name was not immediately released Wednesday night.<\/p>\n The building\u2019s super and a next-door neighbor said the victim lived above the second-floor unit where the explosion occurred.<\/p>\n Though early reports indicated a lithium-ion battery may have been responsible, investigators now suspect a gas leak triggered the explosion, FDNY sources said.<\/p>\n Tenants told officials that they had smelled gas in the building before the fire.<\/p>\n \u201cI smelled gas. I started checking the house to see if anything was leaking,\u201d tenant Daniel Mercado, 49, told the Daily News. \u201cI checked the hallway. I sat down and an hour or two later it exploded. (The) wall fell, (the) ceiling fell,\u201d said Mercado.<\/p>\n Mercado said he found the woman who lives in the building where the blast occurred in the stairwell. Her poodle was dead, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe came outside with her and she was able to walk on her own but she couldn\u2019t talk, she was in shock,\u201d said Mercado. \u201cThe fire was all over the closet and kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n As the fire raged, one tenant said he was anxiously awaiting news of his 12 dogs, who were trapped in his basement apartment as firefighters battled the blaze.<\/p>\n \u201cThey gotta suffer through all this s\u2014 and water is coming down,\u201d said the man, who gave his name as Chris. \u201cI just want to know they\u2019re okay. I\u2019ve been here for the past three hours begging (for information).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI rescue dogs,\u201d he added. \u201cI don\u2019t want them to die in a shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear Wednesday night if any of the dogs survived the fire.<\/p>\n The deceased tenant was found in a collapsed section of the building. His body was pulled out and temporarily stored in an alley across the street until the fire was put out and the city\u2019s Medical Examiner\u2019s office could claim his remains Wednesday night.<\/p>\n The blaze was declared under control at 3:30 p.m. but small fires reignited throughout the rest of the afternoon, FDNY officials said.<\/p>\n The fire was finally out by Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n The Red Cross set up a registration center at P.S. 56, about two blocks away from the fire, where 45 people from 18 households, including seven children, sought relief, including temporary lodgings and emergency financial aid, according to a spokeswoman.<\/p>\n The apartment building had 27 apartments, Bonsignore said.<\/p>\n The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, Bonsignore said. As of late Wednesday, fire marshals hadn\u2019t been able to get into the destroyed building to find the flashpoint.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n The declaration covers six counties and tribal nations, helping fund evacuations, shelters, search and rescue, and other emergency response efforts\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Some station features deemed merely \u201cnice-to-haves\u201d have a powerful impact on firefighter health and performance\n <\/p>\n August 05, 2026 04:55 PM<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n An 18-month investigation found electrical arcing from an out-of-service transmission tower ignited the wildfire that killed 19 people in Altadena\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n After spending 20 years in the fire service, former Spokane firefighter\/EMT Tim Archer is now facing the work of rebuilding his own home\n <\/p>\n August 05, 2026 10:22 AM<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n \u00a92026 New York Daily News. 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