(Photo: Allyson Shiffman)
A man was seriously burned earlier today following what a bystander described as a “small explosion.” According to the bystander’s second-hand account, “a guy engulfed in flames” ran out of the building located at 170 Avenue C before emergency vehicles arrived. The victim’s charred clothes were left behind at the scene and have since been removed.
The fire department confirmed that it received a call at 2:26 p.m. this afternoon reporting a man with serious burns. The victim was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital’s Burn Center in serious condition. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
A Con Ed emergency truck was spotted at the scene of the incident but a spokesperson for the utility company said it wasn’t involved and its “trucks are everywhere.”
Keep us posted if you hear anything about gas. Thanks!
Thanks Kim,
There is truly a growing movement in NYC to seek the reversal of the increased use of natural gas into NYC grid. On so many levels – it’s irresponsible, dangerous and not necessary to meet our energy needs. Details aside — the explosion in Harlem was merely one in a growing list, nationwide; and no doubt this will only increase as the rush for ‘fracking’ continues. Anyway, Kim….thanks for writing the story (yes, it’s unclear if THIS one was from gas..I know); and, more so, I encourage you to keep your ‘nose to the ground’ on issues relating to the massive new introduction of natural gas into NYCs grid. And write, write, write about it.
I live across the street and heard the explosion and screams which drew me to the window. I saw the two workers who had been working near a manhole on the property of 170 Avenue C. It seems to me that both men were on fire, but one put out his flames quickly. The second one was burning from both his torso and legs. Passersby shouted for him to roll on the ground, which he did. That extinguished some of the flames, but his pant legs flared up again. The incident occurred behind a fence, so it was difficult for people to get over it to help. The other worker tried hard to use his coat to smother the flames. Then a maintenance man from 170 came out with a fire extinguisher and put out the flames. At 2:23 I was one of what must have been several people who called 911.
Last night a fire marshal call me to ask about details of what I saw. I asked him if the explosion was from a gas leak. He said, “No,” that it was an electrical problem. The manhole had become electrified. IMO there must have been some kind of arc because I did hear an explosion. There were no flames shooting out of the manhole which might have been the case if there was an ongoing gas leak.
The fire marshal had no further details on the condition of man who was burned.