Gas explosion and fire in New York City apartment building kills 1, injures 14

Key Highlights

• He said there was major structural damage to about a dozen apartments and fires in 10 apartments on the 16th and 17th floors. Authorities did not immediately release information on the person who died.
• Another person was critically injured, five had serious injuries and eight had minor injuries, officials said. Officials said the building had been undergoing renovations and work on the natural gas system had been completed and inspected.
• The cause of the explosion was under investigation.“It’s an incredible tragedy.
• We’re sending all our thoughts to the families involved,” New York City’s deputy mayor for housing and planning, Leila Bozorg, said at a morning news conference. More than 200 fire and emergency crews worked the scene, according to the fire department.“There were injuries.
• It was a very, very difficult night on a very cold night, which caused even more difficulty,” New York City’s fire commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore, said. Officials set up a reception center at a school near the building and the American Red Cross was there to help provide housing and other needs. About half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by Nycha, the city’s housing authority – the largest agency of its kind in the nation. Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, 50s and 60s.