A suspected drug lab in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City exploded Tuesday, killing a battalion chief of the FDNY and injuring at least 12 other people.
Seventeen-year New York City Fire Department veteran and father of three children Battalion Chief Michael Fahy was killed by falling debris when the building exploded around 7:30 a.m. after police had begun investigating a suspected gas leak and found a drug lab in the building.
Fahy was the son of former fire chief and was the first firefighter lost in the line of duty in his unit since 2014, according to The New York Times.
Twelve others were injured in the blast, including at least seven police officers, one firefighter, and a Con Edison worker, USA Today reported. None of those injuries were thought to be life-threatening.
“He was on the rise. He was a star,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro told reporters, 4 New York reported. The Commissioner, who knew Fahy’s father, continued, “ It’s a sad day. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen every day, but when it does, it doesn’t make it any easier. We lost a hero today.”
Jennifer Mullane lives a few blocks away from the site of the explosion, which she said shook her building. “It felt like it was literally across the street,” she told The New York Times. “There was smoke and ashes floating down, like burnt paper.”
The two-story home was destroyed. Smoke could be seen rising from the site of the explosion from many locations in the city, including the 238th Street subway platform.
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