Building collapses, engulfed in flames in New York's East Village

[Bosonic]

Source: Reuters

A residential apartment building collapsed and was engulfed in flames on Thursday in New York City's East Village neighborhood, critically injuring at least one person, authorities said.

Witnesses reported hearing an explosion, and local television footage showed the building fully ablaze, with just remnants of its brick facade intact. Flames leaped high into the sky amid thick plumes of dark smoke.

A spokeswoman for the Con Edison utility company said crews were on the scene but had not determined whether there had been a gas explosion. She said gas supplies were being cut to buildings in the immediate area as a precaution.

One person was injured critically and other injuries were possible, said the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/26/us-usa-new-york-collapse-idUSKBN0MM2Q320150326

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[PoliticAverse]

1. Pictures...

http://7online.com/news/explosion-reported-at-apartment-building-in-east-village/574555/
http://7online.com/news/fire-rages-after-explosion-collapse-at-east-village-apartment-building/574555/

[SummerSnow]

2. Im watching it live on tv now. ABC news channel 7.

[hrmjustin]

3. Channel 7 was live when the building came down.

[Helen Borg]

4. Jeebus... Looks bad.

[herding cats]

5. I hope the people above got out before it was too late!

Was this another gas leak I wonder?

[appalachiablue]

9. That's what MSNBC is reporting now, possible gas leak.

[herding cats]

10. There was a bad one last March in East Harlem

That one destroyed two apartment buildings and killed 8 people.

[appalachiablue]

12. Very tragic, wonder if the bldgs. are kept up by mgmt. merely old or both-

[herding cats]

13. The gas mains are extremly old.

Last year it was said the main which had leaked was installed in 1887. That's not a typo, it was 127 years old.

[Travelman]

19. Apparently so.

NYP says that someone was working on the gas lines in the building prior to the explosion.

http://nypost.com/2015/03/26/nyc-building-collapse/

A diner who was eating at the Sushi Park restaurant at 121 Second Ave. told cops he heard an explosion inside the kitchen there, and day laborers said they had been working on a gas line there, a source said.

[valerief]

23. Day laborers worked on a gas line? Anything to save a buck.

Bring back unions!

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

6. This brought back some bad memories...

[hrmjustin]

7. I can see the smoke from South Brooklyn.

[appalachiablue]

11. I can't imagine- Cousin moved to NYC for a job in 1998 after many years in LA. Returned to

SoCal in 2002. Her apartment was in one of those old rehabbed bldgs., 6-10 stories, same as my brother in the Village in the 90s.

[appalachiablue]

8. On MSNBC: chaos, 200 firefighters, an old tenement bldg., possibly related to a gas leak.

What a coincidence with the March 25, 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire tragedy in NYC that killed so many young women garment workers.

[starroute]

16. I thought of the Triangle fire too -- it was just a few blocks away

This fire is at Second Avenue and 7th Street. According to Google maps, the location of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire is just three long blocks west and one short block south of that. About half a mile if you could walk it directly -- some of the streets aren't through streets.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/29+Washington+Pl,+New+York+University,+New+York,+NY+10003/@40.7292366,-73.9919993,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c259908f365f03:0x4089b13886f6d86e

[smirkymonkey]

27. Tragic. I used to spend a lot of time in that neighborhood.

I'm glad nobody was killed. My thoughts are with the injured and displaced.

[Man from Pickens]

30. I knew that area intimately

Triangle building is now owned by NYU, sits right off the northeast corner of Washington Square Park.

Walk directly east from there, pass Broadway, Astor Place (big cube in the middle of the street, which you can spin FYI) Lafayette/4th Av, 3rd Av, then to 2nd Av, look left, 2nd building is the building under discussion.

About 8 minutes' walk at an easy pace to get from one to the other.

[hrmjustin]

14. 12 injuries 3 critical.

[valerief]

25. Likely TOTALLY preventable, too. nt

[hrmjustin]

28. Yes.

[brooklynite]

15. WABC: witnesses reported strong odor of natural gas before explosion

[Raine1967]

18. My heart hurts.

I have friends that live in that area and have eaten at the Sushi Place.

[NYFlip]

35. I've eaten there many times

I live about 5 blocks away from those buildings. I'm really glad no one was killed.

[Raine1967]

36. Glad you are safe.

It must have smelled terrible tonite.

We would walk over from St. Marks place and get that sushi. It was really good.

Welcome to DU NYFlip. I'm glad no one has died as well. They say there are still 3 people in Crit Condition, last I heard.

The photos were horrific.

[bearssoapbox]

20. Yes, Our country's infrastructure is JUST fine.

Just in case.

[valerief]

24. We need the 99%'s tax money for WAR not infrastructure jobs.

Gotta make WAR PROFITEERS RIIIIIIIIICHER.

[bearssoapbox]

32. That's right.

The MIC has to pay POS like Cotton somehow.

The reTHUGliCONS do support jobs, energy and education.

[Calista241]

40. This was a privately owned residential building.

Presumably the building was inspected and up to code.

Not everything can be blamed on Republican incompetence. There are such things as accidents.

[hrmjustin]

21. Mayor says that there were workers working on plumbing and possibly gas pipes.

Nobody missing at this point.

[Warpy]

38. Latest news says that the gas company sealed the new main

because the inspector found the work substandard. It's going to be fascinating to piece this one together.

Those old buildings go up like rockets because they were often used for workshops of one description or another, the sub floors under the yuppie hardwood soaked with machine oil or worse.

This reminds me of why even today, the barest whiff of smoke when I'm sleeping will have me standing at the bedside with my shoes on by the time I wake up. Living in ratty old tenements in Boston trained me well.

[hrmjustin]

22. All three buildings on 2nd Ave are gone.

[Richard D]

26. From a friend of mine in the area

. . . heard the explosion & woke me — the neighborhood
is FUBAR, the 121 2nd Ave Love Saves the Day building & 123 2nd Ave
Pommes Frites & Sam's Deli building also affected, chaotic local scene —

[JustAnotherGen]

29. Oh my!

I hope very few people were hurt.

Is that Pommes Frites Belgian restaurant? Ate there last month - nice people/staff.

[regnaD kciN]

31. So, what happened with the story about the guy running in to use the restroom...

...and then running out seconds later, just before the explosion?

Did they identify the person, or was this just another wild urban legend/rumor of the type that tend to spring up after disasters?

[LiberalElite]

37. My vote is for urban legend nt

[justhanginon]

33. I have to tip my hat to the

men and women firefighters in NYC as they fought this inferno. Brave souls! If I were to be a firefighter I think NYC would be the last place I would choose because of the density of old tall buildings. They certainly have my admiration and respect for the job they have chosen to do.

[pansypoo53219]

34. i know downtown milw has some old 1800's wood swear pipes, but not GAS.

[brooklynite]

39. UPDATE -search for missing person believed to have been in one of the restaurants

per NYPD this morning

[Crabby Appleton]

41. This is how the site looks this morning