Officials evacuated 148 apartments and arranged emergency housing for hundreds.
NEW YORK — An early Saturday gas explosion in a 17-story Bronx apartment building killed one person and injured 14 as flames spread across the top two floors during a bitter cold snap, authorities said.
The Fire Department said units were already checking reports of a gas odor on the 15th and 16th floors when the blast occurred shortly before 12:30 a.m., triggering fires in roughly 10 apartments on the 16th and 17th floors. The building, on Bivona Street in Eastchester, suffered heavy damage in a vertical stack of units. Officials said one victim died at the scene. The injured included at least one person in critical condition and several with serious injuries. Crews cut utilities, cleared hallways and windows choked with smoke and began apartment-by-apartment searches as alarms continued to sound.
More than 200 firefighters and medics from about 75 units responded, working on iced streets with ladders and hoselines that stiffened in the cold. “We’re still determining the ignition source,” Chief of Department John Esposito said, adding that structural damage made parts of the upper floors hazardous to enter. City agencies reported evacuating all 148 apartments and assisting more than 300 residents, including 89 children, with temporary shelter. Engineers and inspectors documented fractures around window bays, scorched framing and debris scattered into stairwells and an elevator lobby.
Records show the complex shifted from New York City Housing Authority control to private management in 2024 under a rehabilitation program that includes building-system upgrades. Work has been ongoing in recent months inside some units, according to residents and city filings. The tower sits near Reeds Mill Lane and Pelham Parkway, part of a cluster of large developments where emergency crews have staged for major incidents before. In 2022, a separate Bronx fire in Fordham Heights killed 17 people and spurred rule changes citywide on alarms and self-closing doors, which officials said were in place here as crews reviewed how they functioned.
Investigators from the Fire Department, Department of Buildings and the local gas utility are examining valves, meters and interior lines serving the upper floors. They will trace the distribution system and appliances for failures and review permitting tied to recent renovations. As of Saturday evening, officials said no criminal charges had been filed. A preliminary update is expected early in the week after specialists collect samples and complete pressure testing; a fuller report could take longer. Housing and emergency management teams are coordinating hotel placements and document replacement for displaced families.
From the street, charred upper windows and warped blinds were visible as neighbors watched crews rotate into warming buses. “The boom woke everyone,” said Carlos De León, who lives nearby. “Then the smoke just poured out of the top.” Firefighters used portable heaters to thaw fittings and rotated companies to prevent frostbite. By late afternoon, tape ringed the property and access was limited to escorted retrievals of medication and pets while structural engineers expanded restricted zones around the most damaged corner stack.
Officials said utilities will remain shut off through the weekend, and investigators will return Sunday to access compartments that were too hot to enter. The next public briefing is expected Monday, when the city will provide an update on the cause and long-term relocation plans for tenants.
Author note: Last updated January 25, 2026.