Police said the blast followed a report of an armed man, a gas smell and family members trapped in danger.
NEW YORK CITY, NY — A fiery explosion tore through a Queens home early Thursday as New York City police officers responded to a domestic dispute, sending officers flying, injuring eight of them and setting off a five-alarm fire, officials said.
The blast turned a call about a man with a knife into a large emergency scene in South Ozone Park, where firefighters battled flames, neighbors fled damaged homes and police searched through debris. Officials said all residents known to be inside the building were accounted for, but several people were taken to hospitals. The man accused of forcing his way inside was later found dead, according to reports from the scene.
Police said the first 911 call came at about 2:42 a.m. Thursday from a family member who reported that a male relative had arrived intoxicated, armed with a knife and that there was a smell of gas inside the residence. NYPD Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh said the man forced his way into a basement apartment in a three-family home where his wife, daughter and two grandchildren lived. “I want to be clear: We got very lucky today,” McIntosh said at a briefing. “This could have turned out really differently.”
Officers arrived minutes later and moved toward the front door after family members escaped and gave them a key, officials said. Body camera video released by the Police Department showed officers standing near the entrance shortly before 3 a.m. as one officer began to open the door. A large fireball then burst outward, blowing out windows and throwing officers backward across the small front yard and into a gate. Smoke and debris filled the area as officers checked on one another. One officer could be heard asking, “You guys good?” before the video showed police helping children and adults out of the home.
Authorities said eight officers suffered minor injuries, including burns and at least one head laceration that required stitches. One firefighter also was reported injured. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the injured first responders were in stable condition and praised police, firefighters and emergency medical workers who rushed to the scene. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the officers had just been thrown to the ground by an explosion but kept moving toward the burning home because people were still inside. She said their focus remained on removing children and adults and keeping the fire from claiming more lives.
The man identified by officials and reports as Anroop Parasram, 50, had arrived with a knife and two garbage bags containing canisters, police said. Officials said the substance inside the canisters was not immediately known. McIntosh said Parasram had three expired orders of protection involving family members. Investigators were working to determine the exact source of the blast and whether the canisters, gas or another accelerant played a role. Police said at the morning briefing that Parasram was unaccounted for. Later reports said a body believed to be his was found in the debris after firefighters brought the blaze under control.
The explosion caused the home to collapse and damaged nearby houses, officials said. Sixteen people from the building and neighboring homes were displaced. Fire officials described the response as a five-alarm fire, a level that brings a large number of firefighters, engines, ladder companies and chiefs to a scene. Crews sprayed water onto the burning structure for hours as smoke rose over the residential block. The fire spread risk was high because the homes sit close together, a common condition on many Queens streets lined with multifamily houses and narrow driveways.
Neighbors described a sudden blast that shook the block before flames took over the home. Some residents came outside in the dark as police and firefighters moved people away from the burning structure. The body camera video captured a chaotic scene, with officers stepping over debris, shouting to one another and guiding crying children out through smoke. Officials said the family members inside the basement apartment escaped before or shortly after police arrived, though some still needed help getting clear of the property. The home’s collapse later made the search more dangerous and slowed the work of investigators.
The investigation remained active Thursday as police, fire marshals and debris-removal crews worked at the scene. Officials said they were reviewing body camera footage, 911 records, witness accounts and evidence recovered from the burned property. No charges were announced because the suspected man was dead, but authorities continued to examine the domestic violence history, the reported knife threat and the materials brought into the apartment. The medical examiner was expected to confirm the identity and cause of death for the body found at the scene.
By Thursday evening, the injured officers had been treated for injuries that officials described as minor, and displaced residents were receiving city assistance. The next milestone in the case is the completion of fire marshal findings and formal identification of the body recovered from the collapsed home.
Author note: Last updated May 1, 2026.