Two firefighters were hospitalised, including a fire marshal who suffered a fractured temple and a brain bleed and was intubated, officials said. The other firefighter was in serious condition but had shown improvement, officials said.
“This was a complex, fast-developing emergency situation,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters.
“First responders did what they always do: they ran towards danger so others could escape to safety.”
Officials did not provide details about the person who died except to say it was a civilian.
A comprehensive investigation would begin once the fire was completely extinguished, Mamdani said.
Firefighters had responded to reports of a fire in a basement and two workers trapped and were on scene when the explosion occurred, officials said.
The incident took place in the Richmond Terrace section of the borough of Staten Island, a part of New York City that is across the harbor from Manhattan.
