Police said a domestic dispute led to a gas-fed fire and collapse on 130th Street.
NEW YORK — A man is believed dead after police said he sparked a gas-fed fire that caused a Queens home to explode and collapse early Thursday, injuring eight NYPD members and several civilians.
The blast happened just before 3 a.m. on 130th Street in South Ozone Park, after officers responded to a 911 call about a domestic dispute involving a man armed with a knife. Officials identified the suspect as 50-year-old Anroop Parasram, the estranged husband of a woman who lived in the basement apartment.
Police said officers smelled gas when they arrived and met a woman who gave them keys to the basement apartment. They were trying to enter and find Parasram when the house exploded. Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh said body-worn camera video showed the blast knocking officers off their feet and into a fence. “We got very lucky today; this could have turned out very different,” McIntosh said.
Seven police officers and a sergeant were hurt. Officials said the officers suffered minor burns, and the most serious injury was a head cut that needed stitches. Four civilians also were reported injured. Firefighters battled the five-alarm fire for hours as flames threatened nearby homes. All 11 residents of the building were accounted for, including seven people who lived on the first and second floors and four who lived in the basement.
Investigators said Parasram no longer lived at the home but went to the basement apartment where his estranged wife, daughter and two grandchildren were living. Police said the woman told officers he arrived intoxicated and armed with a knife. Video reviewed by police showed him carrying two garbage bags filled with canisters holding an unknown substance. Officials said he appeared to force his way inside by pushing in an air conditioning unit.
Police said three expired orders of protection had been filed against Parasram, with the most recent expiring in 2024. All three involved a relative who was in the apartment when the fire and explosion happened. Officials said the woman, daughter and two grandchildren escaped before the blast. Investigators are still working to determine exactly how the fire started and how gas fed the explosion.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said investigators were trying to confirm whether Parasram was buried beneath the collapsed home. Officials said cadaver dogs would be brought in when conditions were safe. Crews also waited for National Grid to shut off the gas line before searching parts of the basement. An excavator was expected to dig into the street so workers could reach the line.
McIntosh said the officers ran back toward danger after the explosion, even though they had just been thrown by the force of the blast. He said the officers entered the burning home because they believed people could still be inside. Firefighters later worked to keep the fire from spreading while smoke and debris filled the block.
The scene remained active Thursday as fire, police and utility crews worked around the collapsed building. Officials said the investigation was continuing, and the next step was a safe search of the rubble after the gas line was secured.
Author note: Last updated April 30, 2026.