The explosion occurred in the basement and caused the first floor to collapse
An explosion at a Brooklyn basement left six injured and dozens displaced on Wednesday morning as firefighters fought back the flames that engulfed the three-story building and nearby homes.
Shocking video from the New York Fire Department shows the residence at 58 Vermont St., in Cypress Hills, suddenly explode just after midnight, flinging the front door and debris and across the street.
'We had heavy fire on arrival in the cellar, first floor and second floor,' the FDNY said in a statement.
'The first floor collapsed into the basement, so we were unable to search that area. There are six non-life-threatening injuries to civilians, two have been transported to area hospitals and four which refused medical attention.'
A total of 54 people have been evacuated from their homes near the explosion as city officials investigate whether the structural stability of the entire block was comprised due to the blast, NBC reported.
More than 138 firefighters from 33 units responded to the fire at Vermont Street as it covered the two neighboring buildings and a separate building on Jamaica Avenue.
The FDNY said two occupants were home on an upper floor when the explosion happened, but they were safely evacuated and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Edwin Rodriguez, one of the displaced neighbors, told ABC 7 that he had smelled gas in the building yesterday afternoon and complained about it to the owners.
'I reported it. They ignored it and this was the result. This is what we get,' Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, who's family is being put in a hotel as the city investigates the block, said he was frightened when he heard the blast and immediately ran out of the building with his daughter.
'My daughter went without no socks, no sneakers, nothing. I just took her, and we just ran out.'
It is still unclear what caused the blast as the FDNY is investigating whether it was caused by a boiler malfunction, and Con Edison arrived at the scene to inspect a possible gas emergency, fire officials said.
National Grid also responded at the scene and is working under the lead of the Fire Marshal to help investigate the cause.
Michelle Grullon, another neighbor, agreed with Rodriguez about the smell of gas at the property.
'Everybody kept saying they smelled gas,' Grullon told ABC. 'They smelled gas, but nobody went to figure out, like, 'Where's it coming from? Why is it happening? How to stop it.' And then now this happens, and now a bunch of us don't have somewhere to sleep.'
The powerful explosion ripped through the street and shattered the building's windows
New York State Senator Julia Salazar, of Brooklyn, said that she would provide additional aid to those displaced.
Also, when you smell gas, call the power company, not your fuckin' landlord, you twit! At least my landlord has the sense to call the power company himself when someone reports gas smells (usually a furnace needs tuning as it's not burning the fuel completely, but sometimes it's a pilot light gone out).