A gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a 17-story apartment building in the Bronx early Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others, authorities said.
Firefighters responded shortly before 12:30 a.m. to the building, where residents were seen leaning out of windows calling for help as flames engulfed parts of the top floors. The explosion occurred while investigators were examining reports of a gas odor on the 15th and 16th floors, according to Fire Chief John Esposito.
The building has been under private management since 2024, after decades of operation by the New York City Housing Authority. In October 2025, another Bronx housing authority building suffered a chimney collapse linked to a gas boiler.
Chief Esposito said firefighters were investigating reports of a gas odor when the explosion occurred. He said there was major structural damage to about a dozen apartments and fires in ten apartments on the 16th and 17th floors.
The Incident and Its Impact
One person was killed in the explosion. Of the injured, one was in critical condition, five sustained serious injuries, and eight had minor injuries, officials said.
Some firefighters were briefly trapped in an elevator during the emergency response, Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said. “There were injuries. It was a very, very difficult night on a very cold night, which caused even more difficulty,” she said.
Community Response and Relief
All utilities in the building were shut down and all 148 apartments were evacuated. Mayor Zohran Mamdani set up a reception center for displaced residents at a nearby school, with the American Red Cross providing emergency assistance.
By early Saturday afternoon, the Red Cross had registered more than 100 households and 305 people, including 89 children, for emergency aid. “As you can imagine, this has been a deeply frightening and devastating morning for them,” Mamdani said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. “They are not alone. Our city will stand by them and do everything in our power to help them get back on their feet.”
More than 200 fire and emergency crews worked the scene, according to the fire department.
Housing Authority’s Infrastructure Challenges
The cause of the explosion remained under investigation. Officials said the building had been undergoing renovations and that work on the natural gas system had been completed and inspected.
Around half a million New Yorkers live in housing authority buildings, many of which date to the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems in these buildings, including lead paint, mold, and inadequate heat. When Bart Schwartz completed his five-year term as monitor in 2024, he noted that the overarching issue for residents remained “the poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”