14 DAY TRIAL // A building collapsed in the Chinatown section of New York City on Thursday, July 11, leaving 12 people injured.
Fire Chief Robert Boyce detailed that the first floor of a building exploded and a fire was started. The second and third floors were set ablaze.
Residents heard a “boom, like a bombing, like an earthquake” before the explosion, at 12:45 p.m. The blast took place at 17 Pike St. near East Broadway.
CBS New York reports that three people are critically wounded and they are hospitalized with burns and smoke inhalation. Four of the people that were injured were firefighters who pulled out the residents.
“I almost freaked out and my heart was pounding really fast,” neighbor Jamie Lin describes.
Officials explained that the explosion was set off by misused roach bombs. They traced the source of the blast to the first-floor on the 17 Pike Street building.
NY Daily News wrote that the owners of a hair salon were using Raid fumigating foggers and Decon bug bombs. They were being “improperly used,” a police source says.
Flames were started inside the Piao Liang Ren Scheng Beauty Salon and the ceiling collapsed.
“Heard the boom first and then see a fire and smoke come out,” witness Tao Ping Lin describes.
“I think like gasoline or something exploded. I feel very heavy thud like explosion and I just ran out. I have no idea what happened,” said John Sun, who was at work in an office on the first floor of the building.
The other floors were used as living space, housing apartments. The explosion has prompted an evacuation and the street was closed off for the rest of the day.
“I’m feel really bad about what happened to those people, but I’m just a little worried where am I going to stay,” resident Misty Lee says.