1 Killed, 4 Injured After Explosion In Queens Penthouse
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One person was killed and four firefighters were injured after an explosion caused a fire in a Queens penthouse Tuesday, and police believe it may have been intentionally started.
"I heard boom, and then the building, like, shook, so all I could think was, 'What the hell just happened,'" Brenda Meira told CBS2's Cory James.
That sequence of events sent Meira and her neighbors racing out of their apartment building, shaking with fear.
"Scared the s*** out of me," Meira said. "Everyone is yelling, 'Fire, fire, get out of the building.'"
After making it out, thick flames could be seen shooting from the top of a penthouse apartment at the six-story apartment building on 41st Avenue near 73rd Street in Elmhurst.
Investigators say 26-year-old Anesti Bulgaretsi was found dead, face-up in a bathtub inside the apartment. Police say he was found with puncture wounds.
"I feel so bad," Zoe Li said.
"It's tragedy, terrible," a woman named Melissa said.
The Red Cross is now helping people from 41 units, some of them displaced with their pets, as engineers and inspectors from the Department of Buildings examine their building to see if it's safe.
Meanwhile, authorities say a device was used to cause the explosion.
"I don't ever want to live through it again," Meira said.
People from three nearby homes were also evacuated as a precaution.
Officials say four firefighters were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries but are expected to be OK.
Right now, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.