wife called me and like 9:30 and the building next door to us explodes. in our hallway, the lobby and the ceiling came down. it was a loud explosion like a bomb. give the idea of the blast before and after pictures. screen left and right. the explosion shut down the major train line. and that is live in northern manhattan. where does it stand now, reporter: good afternoon to you. let me set the scene for you. it is an active scene. it is a five alarm blaze and firefighters are still arriving on the scone and the fire is still not contained and there is a danger the mayor said the gas coming in the buildings underneath. here s what he had to say about the deadly combination of gas and fire. con ed is in the process of shutting down all gas mains going in to the building. that is a detailed and complicated process that requires digging up the ground and manual labor to turn off the different supplies of gas to the building. reporter: moenl, bill, as firefighters pull i