'Never experienced anything like this’: NYC residents stunned as explosion sent 100 firefighters racing to the scene

On Friday, a loud explosion was heard in New York City, one world's largest mega-cities. Multiple videos on social media showed a massive cloud of black smoke rising from one of the streets of the city. Black smoke was seen over Manhattan following an 'major explosion' that rocked New York city as residents flee the upper east side.

On Friday, at around 10am ET, a large fire occurred near 305 East 95th Street in Manhattan, not far from Central Park. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. More than 100 firefighters and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel rushed to the scene.

The fire spread to the top-floor apartments, with no occupants found in the units, according to Citizen.


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What caused the New York explosion?

Reports suggest that the fire was sparked by gas in the basement of the building. The fire on the roof extended to the cockloft and into three penthouses on the top floor of the building.

Deputy Assistant Chief James Canty said three firefighters suffered minor injuries. The superintendent was in the basement at the time of the fire. He was also rushed to a hospital for a minor injury at this point.

A witness shared on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Just witnessed an explosion in NYC while on a video call! Never experienced anything like this before!"

A user named Jimmy shared a video with flames on top of a building. He wrote: "Yes, there was a loud boom just before the fire and smoke started."

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The FDNY shared a video of operating at a "3-alarm fire". EMS was also at the scene, with two ladder trucks. Crews continued to work for hours to keep the fire under control. Three-alarm fire rating means it requires a large personnel and resources to extinguish.

One witness took a video of the blast and uploaded it to X moments after. The user said alongside the clip: "Something just exploded on e95th street and then this the black smoke. Looks like it’s getting worse but might be the wind.

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Another social media user wrote: "My Dry Cleaners is between those buildings (Tender Care). I guess I won’t be picking up any suits today."

The 59-unit red brick apartment building was built in 1910 and has six floors. Street Easy profile reported it does have a 'roof deck'.

Firefighter David Martinez told Daily Mail he was battling fires inside for "quite some time". He said crews were unsure of the exact cause but had the fire under control. He said: "We were going room to room, I was at the end of the hose trying to keep it down... it was so hot."