"Some sort of explosion" and fire at Bronx building leaves 1 dead, 15 hurt, FDNY says

One person is dead, and 15 others were injured after "some sort of explosion" and fire at a Bronx building Wednesday, FDNY officials said.

The FDNY said it received a call regarding a report of an explosion just before 12:30 p.m. at 374 East 209th St. near Decatur Place in the Norwood section. 

Firefighters found one person dead inside the building. Of the 15 other people hurt, two civilians had life-threatening injuries, two other civilians had serious injuries, and three of six firefighters treated had serious injuries, according to the FDNY. The other seven victims had minor injuries.

"I heard a big boom, as if, like, a bomb was literally right next to me," resident Ellesse Falcon said.

"I heard like a bang. Like the whole room shaked. Then I go to the living room and my grandmother was screaming and everything," resident Stacey Lugo said. "The hall, it was like all smoke and everything."

The situation quickly escalated to a five-alarm fire engulfing at least the second and third floors. Orange flame could be seen bursting through several windows of the brick apartment building. 

"Our first companies arrived on scene within three minutes, and they found a heavy fire load, and fire blowing out many, many windows," FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said. 

More than 300 FDNY and EMS personnel responded to the blaze. 

"We do know that there was an explosion. We don't know what the origin is until we get in there and do a complete investigation," Bonsignore said. 

"On the second floor, they were met with an extremely heavy fire condition," FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said. "As the commissioner said, there was some sort of explosion. It blew out window frames, it blew some of them across the street, and when our members got up to the second floor, some of the apartment doors had been blown off their hinges as well." 

Esposito called that a very unusual and dangerous position for firefighters, since the fire was pouring out of the apartments, into the hallway, and up the stairs - with firefighters searching above and below. 

After a collapse in an apartment from the third to the second floor, the FDNY withdrew its personnel from the building. 

"This was a very difficult fire on a very hot and humid day. We had multiple people that needed to be rescued out of the building," Bonsignore said. "There are multiple examples of heroism." 

Video from the scene captured firefighters assisting a person down a fire escape through dark plumes of smoke. One witness said she saw one injured person whose face "was entirely burned." 

Police sources told CBS News New York a lithium-ion battery is suspected to have been involved, possibly from an e-bike, although an official determination will be made later.

"A lot of the buildings in the Bronx are older. This building that was on fire was not fireproof," New York City Councilman Eric Dinowitz said. "We know there are a lot of people leave e-scooters in their apartments here. We've seen that happen a number of times in lithium-ion batteries."

"I heard an explosion. I look out the window, I see all the electric stuff moving, and I see commotion," Norwood resident Paul Gil said. 

"Me and my mom were sitting in front of the building, and it was like a big boom. Flames just went out - things just came out of the house. It was like a big explosion," a resident named Kamorah said. "I was scared because I was right in front." 

Lisa Landin, who lives in a neighboring building, told CBS News New York she had previously smelled gas in the area. 

There are 27 apartments in the building, Esposito said. The Red Cross said they registered a total of 45 people, including seven children, from 18 households for emergency assistance.

"I have all my belongings in there. My ID, everything. We can't go inside the building, I think, for like two days," tenant Xavier Lugo said. "We wasn't able to grab nothing."

Some residents who made it out pleaded with police to get their pets. 

"I don't care about my apartment. I don't care about anything in there. My dogs are my life, they're my world," Falcon said.

FDNY social media video shows flames pouring out of the building as they battled the blaze. 

Esposito estimated the FDNY would remain on the scene into the night.

The FDNY says the fire marshals will determine the cause of this fire.