Explosion in Brooklyn leaves nearly a dozen displaced. Officials say home is likely a total loss
NEW YORK — Fire officials said a gas leak caused an explosion at a Brooklyn home Thursday night, damaging three homes and sending four people to the hospital. Sources tell CBS News New York it was an internal leak, possibly from a stove.
Officials said the blast came from the basement, but it ripped through the two-story home on East 37th Street between Farragut Road and Foster Avenue. Police officials said four people inside were rushed to the hospital, including a 63-year-old man who suffered severe burns.
Brett Asher, with the city's emergency management, said the victims are all lucky to be alive.
"It could have been a lot worse. If someone was outside, let's say, in the backyard, could have been deadly," he said.
While fire officials confirm a gas leak is what caused the home to explode, they say the investigation will likely last through the weekend.
Officials said the home that exploded is likely a total loss, and the adjoining home on the other side is now temporarily uninhabitable. Nearly a dozen people have been displaced.
11 displaced by Brooklyn basement explosion
On Friday afternoon, National Grid crews were on the scene, shutting off gas service, while neighbors say they keep re-living the explosion.
Paulette Thompson's Ring camera shows her panicking in the aftermath.
"Sort of shook the foundation," she said. "It was a frightening situation."
Yan Fen and her husband had to think fast, getting themselves and their 3-month-old baby to safety after fire officials say their next door neighbor's home exploded around 8:30 Thursday night.
"I ran, picked up my baby to run," Fen said.
Fen's home is connected, and the incident, she says, literally shook her house, which has now been issued a full vacate order.
"Of course we're sad. I'm homeless," Fen said.
"This is what brought me to tears at this moment because we've had many family gatherings in here," said the sister of one displaced neighbor.
A neighbor's Ring camera caught the aftermath; dust and debris can be seen floating in the air.
The American Red Cross says it's helping all those displaced, which includes 11 people, including four older adults and one child.