The house on 130th Street in Queens exploded in a roar of flames just before 3 a.m. Thursday.
Police officers had responded to a 911 call of a domestic dispute at the home, and a suspect armed with a knife. As they arrived, they smelled gas coming from the structure and were met by a woman, who gave them the keys to her basement apartment.
The officers were attempting to enter the apartment to look for her estranged husband when the house exploded.
Law enforcement officials believe the suspect and estranged husband, 50-year-old Anroop Parasram, was killed in the basement of the collapsed building after intentionally setting himself on fire.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said they are investigating whether the suspect is buried beneath the rubble, and will bring in cadaver dogs to search when it's safe.
Seven police officers and a police sergeant were injured in the blast.
The NYPD officers sustained minor burns. The most severe injury was a laceration to the head that required stitches.
Police reviewed body-worn cameras that showed the explosion was so severe that it blew several officers off their feet and into a fence.
"They stood up, they got up, they ran into the burning home, because that's what the job required, and that's what they do every day. They run through danger. They do not run away from it. Cops confront these situations every day, not knowing if luck will be on their side. Thankfully, today, luck was on their side," said Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh, NYPD Commanding Officer Patrol Borough Queens South.
He added, "We got very lucky today; this could have turned out very different."
All 11 residents of the building, who live in the basement and first and second floors, have been accounted for. Seven lived on the first and second floor another four lived in the basement. They are believed to have evacuated before the explosion.
Department of Building officials say first responders reported four civilian injuries.
As for the suspect, Parasram, believed to be the woman's estranged husband, no longer lived in the home. He was in the basement apartment of the home where his wife, daughter and two grandchildren live.
She said Parasram arrived at their home intoxicated and armed with a knife.
Police say video shows him carrying two garbage bags filled with canisters containing an unknown substance.
Parasram apparently forced his way into the home by pushing in an air conditioning unit to the basement apartment. Once he was inside, his wife, daughter and two grandchildren managed to run away.
There were three expired orders of protection against Parasram. The most recent one expired in 2024. All three of them were filed with one relative who was in the apartment at the time of the explosion and fire.
The house quickly collapsed in the blast, and firefighters spent hours attempting to keep the flames from spreading to neighboring homes.
They have been unable to search the remains of the basement apartment until National Grid shuts off the gas line. An excavator is being brought in to dig up the street and access the line.
The exact cause of how the dispute triggered such a massive blaze remains under investigation.