Early morning explosion levels Kingsbridge house

Firefighting battalion chief killed, 12 people injured

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Police helicopters circled overhead and a smell of smoke filled the air after an explosion shattered a two-story brick house at the corner of Tibbett Avenue and W. 234th Street early on Tuesday morning, killing a firefighting battalion chief and injuring at least 12 other people.

Debris lay scattered along the street and on the roofs of smashed cars that had been parked nearby – all signs of devastation from the blast that had collapsed the house into a heap of rubble. The normally tranquil and leafy block filled with single-family homes acquired the aura of a war zone. 

Firefighters had been called to the scene at 6:22 a.m. Tuesday, responding to a reported gas leak, an FDNY spokesman said. Police and ConEdison workers were also summoned after local residents reported the smell of gas, police Capt. Dennis O’Brien, a detective at the scene, said. 

The explosion came about an hour later, at around 7:30 a.m., according to accounts by local residents. 

FDNY Battalion Chief Michael Fahy, a 17-year veteran of the force, was killed while directing an investigation into the suspected gas leak, and at least 12 other people – mostly emergency personnel and police officers – were injured. 

People in nearby buildings saw a “light flash” and heard a powerful blast, said Anthony Bucaj, who lives in a house across the street. 

“It was just an extremely loud bang – that’s all I heard. I came rushing out,” he said. “Once I came out, I saw a bunch of smoke, and they had already begun hosing it down. It wasn’t like deep black smoke, it was just regular gray smoke.” 

Others, such as Nicholas Kolotouros, recalled being awakened by a powerful sound. 

“We were sleeping, and all of the sudden, we heard this bomb exploding – you know, like a loud noise,” he said. “And we jumped out of the bed, we opened the door, and we saw [that] the house came down.” 

A couple of blocks away, Patricia Quinn, who lives on the seventh and top floor of an apartment building at Riverdale Avenue and 236th Street, said she heard a “boom” and felt her bed shaking – and knew something devastating had gone down, she said

The word on the street on Tuesday morning was that the house had allegedly housed a “drug lab.” Hours later, Police Commissioner James O’Neill confirmed the house had been under investigation “as a possible drug lab, as a possible grow house” for marijuana. 

Mr. Bucaj, the neighborhood resident, said the ravaged house was usually rented out year by year, mostly to college kids. Until Tuesday morning, he had not heard any rumors or drug manufacturing or anything shady, and when he saw residents of the house coming and going, “they didn’t look suspicious or anything,” Mr. Bucaj said.

When the explosion shattered the building, Mr. Fahy, the battalion chief, was killed by a large portion of the roof that was blown off and thrown on the street, where he was directing an investigation into the suspected gas leak, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.  

“They evacuated the surrounding buildings, got everyone else out of the way,” he said. “When an explosion occurred, Chief Fahy was fatally struck with a portion of that building, was brought here as quickly as possible, but he was not to be saved.”

“It’s not just a loss – it’s a terrible loss for the family, for the Fahy family,” Mr. Nigro said. “It’s a loss for the Fire Department family.” 

Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered all flags to be flown at half-staff.  

Police cordoned off nearby blocks, as investigators, medical crews and firefighters rushed to mitigate the impact of the blast and look into its causes. 

Dozens of emergency personnel and vehicles filled nearby blocks. An NYPD helicopter was circling the scene, flying low, and two more hovered in the sky above. 

“We’re still considering all the possibilities, we’re still looking for witnesses,” Capt. O’Brien of the detective squad said. 

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Police are asking anyone who may have information that could help the investigation to call 1-800-577-TIPS.

Anna Dolgov