Worker Dies In Fire Extinguisher Explosion At Chelsea Site: NYPD

CHELSEA, NY — A worker was killed Wednesday morning after a fire extinguisher exploded at the site of a Chelsea post office that is being redeveloped for office space, according to police and city officials.

The worker was hit by shrapnel when the extinguisher exploded just before 9 a.m. at 341 Ninth Avenue, a 1930s United States Postal Service building that occupies a full city block, an NYPD spokesman said. Another worker suffered serious injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, police said.

Workers were recharging extinguishers on the building's fourth floor when the explosion occurred, a spokesman for the city Department of Buildings said. The fire extinguisher work was not related to ongoing construction in the building, the spokesman said.

Two police officers and a civilian were also seriously injured in a car crash that occurred on West 25th Street and Ninth Avenue, police said. The officers were responding to the scene of the explosion at the time of the crash, police said.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement: "My thoughts are with their family, and my district office is monitoring the situation."

The top floors of the Chelsea post office building are currently being redeveloped into a modern office by developers Tishman Speyer. The development firm reached a deal with the postal service to renovate the building's fifth through tenth floors and its retail spaces fronting Ninth Avenue, according to a 2019 New York YIMBY report.

"We are deeply saddened by today’s tragedy and extend our thoughts and prayers to the worker’s family, friends and co-workers. Tishman Speyer is committed to ensuring the ongoing safety and health of the workers at our construction sites. The contractor was conducting work in support of the U.S. Postal Service's ongoing operations when this tragic incident occurred," a spokesperson for Tishman Speyer said in a statement.

New York State's shutdown order passed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo limits ongoing construction work to "essential" projects and emergency projects being done to fix unsafe conditions. Work being done in federal government buildings such as post offices is deemed essential, a city Department of Buildings spokesman said.