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NORWOOD, Bronx (WABC) — Over 40 people remain unable to return home Thursday morning after a deadly explosion and five-alarm fire tore through an apartment building in the Norwood section of the Bronx.
The Red Cross said the fire displaced 45 people, including seven children, from 18 households and 27 apartments in the building. The city’s Department of Buildings will determine whether the structure is safe before residents are allowed to return home.
One person was killed and 14 others were injured in the blaze, according to officials.
The fire was first reported on the building’s second floor shortly after noon Wednesday. It reached five alarms just before 2 p.m. and was brought under control shortly after 8 p.m.
Residents told Eyewitness News they smelled gas before an explosion rocked the building, sending flames racing through the structure.
Officials said there were collapses on the building’s second and third floors. Search and rescue teams later found a man, believed to be in his 40s, dead on the collapsed third floor.
Eight civilians were injured, including two with life-threatening injuries, two with serious injuries and four with minor injuries. Six firefighters were also hurt, including three with serious injuries and three with minor injuries.
Among those critically injured was a 48-year-old woman who lived in the second-floor apartment where the fire is believed to have started. Officials also said one of those injured was a child younger than 1 year old, whose injuries were believed to be minor.