this scene. firefighters working every possible angle here. we have been told that the fire was mostly out. i have covered a lot of buildings that have gone down in this country and others and i will tell you, the remarkable feature of this, right now, is the smoke. smoke is simply everywhere around here and it is very, very thick. we did just get some information from one of our producers who says that investigators have been told by neighbors, investigators have been told by neighbors that they did gas prior to the explosion. that would jive with what we have been hearing now with the con edison crews on the scene and the news it was possibly some kind of gas leak before.
you can see the crews working in smoke and soot and ash covering the windshields of cars. con edison crews, the power company here now. just a short time ago, you all reported, there is the cents from con edison that perhaps this blast was caused by a gas leak. these two buildings that were affected, one, as i said, not there anymore. we do not know the condition of the second building. they simply do not know at this point. it is well manned here. 39 up its from the new york fire department. 168 members working the scene of what was a piano store, what was a spanish christian church with apartments on top of them. now, one of those buildings simply gone. i should tell you, i used to
we are told that none are critical or life threatening. none critical or life threatening. we are being moved here by police. who am i going to now? holly mills. let s go to holly mills on the phone right now. molly mills on the phone right now. molly, what can you tell us? well, from my side, when i heard the explosion, it it was very loud. i could feel lmy building rumbl like there was smoke going under it. the explosion was very loud. could you feel it, a blast of
an indisclosed age has been killed because of the collapse. the numbers are very early. at least a dozen or so. it is a very fluid situation. over 150 firefighters on the ground. where the buildings used to be, a big pile of debris underneath it. it is difficult for firefighters to go on it. they are fighting it mainly from above. the is smoke being white, the function of building materials. the cause, a gas explosion. the nypd and firefighters have been very clear to say, there is no connection to terror. we were hearing reports that neighbors have been smelling gas in the area for several weeks. we know that con ed did get a call about a possible gas leak or a gas smell.
so many apartments, as you mentioned, multiuse buildings. we have also learned at least one school in the area, not nearby, has been told to shelter in place. we are going to work some more information and find out about other areas schools. we have our man on the ground. john berman is in harlem and can tell us what he knows live from the scene. can you hear us? reporter: micayla, we were just told by the nypd, 1644 park avenue appears to not be there anymore. it just simply appears to be gone. there is so much smoke out here. it is spanning for blocks and blocks. you have people wearing masks to protect themselves from inhaling it. it is very dangerous, i imagine, to get too close without the mask. we are a safe distance right here, about a block and a half away.