Photo courtesy of the FDNY
At least nine people were injured in Westchester Heights, including several children and one firefighter, after a gas explosion inside a multi-unit residential home shook the building’s foundation and blew out many of the windows and doors. Two of the victims were reported in serious condition.
The explosion occurred inside 1522 Paulding Avenue in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx at 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18. At the scene, FDNY Deputy Chief John Sarrocco issued a brief statement that was later released on Twitter. “We received a call for an explosion,” he said. “Units arrived on scene in three minutes and found what appeared to be a gas explosion with heavy damage to the front of the buildings.”
Sarrocco said several victims were inside the building at the time of the explosion. “Units entered the structure, rescued approximately eight patients, two of which were in critical condition,” he said. EMS later reported transporting six children, one adult and one firefighter to area hospitals, and treated one adult at the scene.
City Department of Buildings (DOB) officials said in a statement on Feb. 18 that the adjacent 1520 and 1524 buildings also suffered some damage, but both were found to be structurally stable. On the same day, despite DOB also designating the foundation of 1522 Paulding Avenue “structurally stable,” residents of all three buildings, 1520, 1522 and 1524, were issued with “vacate” orders due to the risk of possible falling debris. The landlord of the multi-building housing complex was also ordered to build a fence around all three buildings.
The following day, DOB provided an update on their investigations, saying in part, “DOB plumbing inspectors found that gas piping, fittings, valves, water lines, and waste lines for the use of laundry washing machines, gas-powered dryers, and a hot water heater for the laundry had all been illegally installed in the ground floor garage area of 1522 Paulding Avenue.”
Photo courtesy of the FDNY
The statement continued, “This work was performed without proper permits or approvals from the department.” Officials added that the precise cause of the blast had not yet been determined. However, investigators continued to focus on what may have caused or potentially contributed to the explosion i.e. the illegal gas and plumbing work.
According to records accessed by Norwood News through the DOB website, a DOB inspector wrote after the incident, “Due to explosion at time of inspection, 1st & 2nd floor suffered damage from explosion, damaged drywall, cracks throughout and broken windows.”
On Feb. 18, as residents of 1520, 1522, and 1524 were being evacuated, “Kathy,” who declined to give her surname, and who is a resident of the adjacent 1526 Paulding Avenue building, remained in her apartment which, at that point, was without heat or hot water. On Monday, Feb. 22, Kathy recalled the gas explosion incident, telling the Norwood News, “Yeah, it shook my house and made me jump off my sofa.” She said picture frames also fell off the walls of her home.
Asked if any of the evacuated residents had returned home yet, Kathy replied, “No, they’re not going to be able to, as everything’s destroyed,” and referred to discussions she had with the landlord and other officials. “They lost everything,” she added.
Asked about the installation of the illegal laundry room at 1522, Kathy said, “That was a laundry room when I moved in [to the housing complex], and I used to do my laundry there.” She added that the landlord had installed it for use by residents of all the adjacent buildings, but that she now has her own laundry facilities.
Photo by David Greene
According to NYC Department of Finance records, Trackside Homes LLC is the holder of the building’s mortgage. Several calls to Trackside by the Norwood News were not immediately returned.
Meanwhile, as reported recently by the Norwood News, gas leak was the cause of a separate gas explosion inside a Dekalb Avenue apartment in Norwood on Jan. 23. No injuries were reported on that occasion. On Jan. 24, Stanley Jones, who lives in the apartment where the explosion occurred, was standing outside the building and told the Norwood News, “My kitchen exploded. They don’t know what it was.”
Following an investigation of that incident, and in response to a follow-up inquiry from the Norwood News, DOB officials said on Feb. 22, “A licensed master plumber, hired by the owner, found a leak in the cooking gas pipes in the apartment.”
They added that the gas meter bar and piping in the apartment were replaced, and that the vacate order for Jones’ apartment remains in effect. Officials previously confirmed that Jones’ landlord had temporarily provided him with a vacant apartment to stay in while the repairs were being carried out.
Back at Westchester Heights, Norwood News asked Kathy if she felt safe in the building, knowing what had happened. She replied, “No, I’m worried about it. I told the landlord that he’s got to let me know if I can stay here.” She said a Con Edison team was expected to come out that day [Feb. 22], and added, “I know it’s not going to be fixed today. It’s going to take a long time.”
Norwood News followed up a number of times with the FDNY regarding the cause of the explosion and on March 12, 2022 and we were informed that the incident was still under investigation.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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