Explosion At Brooklyn Row House Leaves 6 Hurt, 51 Displaced: FDNY

BROOKLYN, NY — An explosion at a Brooklyn row house left firefighters battling a blaze that spread to several buildings on the block early Wednesday morning, according to fire officials.

The fire broke out in the cellar, first and second floor of a home on Vermont Street in Cypress Hills just after midnight where there had been an explosion in the front of the house, according to FDNY.

The flames caused the first floor to collapse into the basement as the fire spread to adjoining buildings, sending families running into the street, according to the FDNY and state Sen. Julia Salazar, who lives on the block.

The blaze quickly escalated to a three-alarm fire.

"We had to do searches, evacuate those buildings and extinguish the heavy volume of fire," Sheridan said. "...The first floor collapsed into the basement, so we were unable to search that area. The units on scene did a great job."

The fire left six people with non-life threatening injuries, Sheridan said. Two people were taken to the hospital and the other four refused medical attention.

By the time the fire was put out, four other homes on Vermont Street, and one on nearby Jamaica Avenue, were impacted by the flames, according to the Red Cross.

Almost 20 families, 51 residents, from those buildings were displaced and received assistance from the organization, a spokesperson said.

"Over the next few days, Red Cross caseworkers will work with these families to help connect them to government agencies and other nonprofits who can help with longer-term recovery needs," the spokesperson told Patch.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, but one neighbor told 1010 WINS they had smelled gas and called a landlord to take care of it.

This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.