Gas blast wrecks New Jersey apartment building

By Christine Kearney

BERGENFIELD, New Jersey (Reuters) – A gas explosion ripped
through an apartment building in New Jersey on Tuesday,
starting a huge fire and injuring at least five people when the
building partially collapsed, rescue officials said.

An official at the Bergenfield Fire Department said at
least six fire trucks from that department were on the scene
and firefighters had also been called in from neighboring areas
to battle the blaze which burned for several hours.

“There was a big explosion, there was a big fire and people
were screaming ‘Help me, help me,”‘ said David Coradin, 54, a
resident in one of the 24 apartments.

He said he went to help two neighbors whose apartment was
badly damaged with the roof collapsed. “I could see the sky,”
Coradin said. “The woman was screaming ‘Nicholas is trapped.”‘

The woman, who suffered burns, escaped but the fate of her
partner was not yet clear, Coradin said.

Bergenfield Mayor Richard Bohan said five or six people
were injured in the blast, which happened around 9:30 a.m.
(1430 GMT) and appeared to be linked to repair work in the
vicinity.

“It appears that a company was removing a tank, after which
there was an explosion,” Bohan said. “There are injuries, we
don’t know if there are any fatalities.”

It was not immediately clear if anyone was missing since
firefighters were still fighting the blaze several hours after
the explosion, he said.

The fire sent up a large cloud of black smoke that could be
seen across the Hudson River in Manhattan.

A spokeswoman at Holy Name Hospital in the area said two
patients had injuries classified as medium in severity — one
with chest pains, the other with neck and back injuries.

An official at Hackensack University Medical Center said
another three patients were being treated there, but she
declined to say how serious their injuries were.

The Red Cross set up an emergency center to take in those
evacuated from the building, though it appeared that many of
the residents were out at the time since the blast happened
after many people had left for work or school.

The explosion rocked the neighborhood, a commuter-belt
suburb across the water from New York City.

“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through,” said
nearby resident Anthony Sorrentino. “I’ve never seen a house
shake like that … the flames were enormous.”

(Additional reporting by Claudia Parsons)