Massive Explosion Rocks East Village

Multiple fatalities are feared after a massive explosion rocked the East Village this afternoon and caused the collapse of at least one apartment building. Dozens of apartments are reportedly engulfed in flames and the FDNY has declared a seven-alarm emergency. All local television stations are covering the scene live and reporters there say there is a strong smell of gas. The fire started in a building at Second Avenue and East Seventh Street and hundreds of first responders are on the scene. I'll update this post when more is known.

UPDATE: Some video is coming in.

UPDATE II: From the Wall Street Journal.

An explosion in New York City’s East Village on Thursday afternoon led to a building collapse and multiple injuries, a law-enforcement official said, with hundreds of emergency workers on the scene fighting the fire and searching the rubble for trapped people. A preliminary investigation indicated the fire and building collapse was due to a gas explosion, the official said. Two other buildings were in flames, the official said. The explosion, which sent flames into the sky near the corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark’s Place in the East Village, happened shortly after 3 p.m., according to police officials. A ground-floor store was blasted out, a law-enforcement official said. The scene created chaos in the East Village, a neighborhood filled with apartment buildings, restaurants and bars. Perry Kroll, who lives a block away, said he felt his whole building shake, and all of his neighbors spilled out into the street. “There’s an epic smoke column rising from the block,” he said. “I can see really big flames everywhere and chunks of ash falling from the sky. It looks like a building just blew out into the street. It’s just absolute chaos.”

NYC Firefighter: I've Done Gay Porn

Yesterday the New York Daily News published a breathless "exclusive" report that a recently hired city firefighter has revealed his history in gay porn.

Jonathan Jesensky, 33, starred in at least 10 gay porn films before joining the ranks of New York’s Bravest as a rookie firefighter on Tuesday. Jesensky, who also served in the Marines, ditched his porn career, where he’s known by his X-rated alias, Jonathan West, before he was hired as an FDNY EMT in 2012. On Sunday, an FDNY official said Jesensky came clean about his adult film past before he was hired by the city — and there’s no plan to end his budding civil service career. “The legal department is aware of his work history,” said FDNY spokesman Jim Long. The city’s uniformed forces do not hire people with a serious criminal past for law-enforcement jobs. But the city's strict civil service law — which includes age and fitness requirements — does not bar candidates who have posed nude or starred in X-rated films.

According to the above-linked story, Jesensky claims to be straight and says his porn career was "just a job."

NYT On Counterintuitive Fire Advice

Earlier this month a high-rise fire in Hell's Kitchen took the life of a newlywed gay man and critically injured his husband after they attempted to flee their 38th floor apartment via an emergency stairway. The New York Times reported yesterday that even people who knew that they should have stayed in their apartments did the same thing.

A fire safety notice that is supposed to be affixed to every entry door makes clear that staying in place is often the safest strategy during a fire. Most residents interviewed after the fire said they had never seen the notice, had seen it long ago, lost it, or, treated it like a safety information card on an airplane, and simply did not read it. Even among those who knew the rule, many said the first impulse was to run. “The idea of staying in your apartment when there’s a fire sounds wrong,” said George Hahn, 43, who fled with his dog, Smokey, when the fire alarm sounded. Another resident, Nina Regevik, a physician who is a member of an emergency response team created in New Jersey after the Sept. 11 attack, said she was fully aware of the fire safety procedures in her building. But when someone outside her apartment yelled “Fire!” and told everyone to evacuate, she said she defied her training, picked up her cat and fled with her partner. “Despite how many years of training and hearing what one should do, that was totally trumped by hearing someone in a very worrisome voice saying ‘Get out, get out, fire,’ ” she said.

The story notes: "Because the building was constructed of fire-resistant materials, the blaze barely spread. Even residents who remained in apartments directly next door to the fire emerged unscathed." The surviving gay man remains under sedation and has not yet been told that his husband died. Openly gay City Councilman Corey Johnson, whose district includes Hell's Kitchen, has introduced a bill that would require emergency public address systems for all buildings taller than six stories.

Petition Of The Day

Nearly 5000 people have signed a petition calling on the New York City Council to write new fire safety laws after last week's high-rise fire in Hell's Kitchen claimed the life of a newlywed gay man and severely injured his husband. The two men were found in the emergency stairwell. The FDNY says that in most high-rise fires, it is safer to remain in your apartment than attempt to flee via the emergency stairs. Petitioners are demanding that all such buildings install public address systems that building management or firefighters can use to advise residents. Recently elected and openly gay City Councilman Corey Johnson, whose district includes Hell's Kitchen, will hold an 11am press conference on Monday at City Hall to announce the introduction of a bill requiring "additional safety measures in high-rise residential buildings." 

RELATED: An online fundraiser for the still-hospitalized victim has netted over $66,000 at this writing.

9/11 Scandal Roils NYPD And FDNY

More than one hundred former New York City police officers and firefighters have been indicted for falsely claiming to have been disabled in the aftermath of 9/11.

Though the former New York City police officers and firefighters were supposed to be fully disabled -- some suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- images in court documents released Tuesday painted a starkly different picture. One man smiled behind shades and flipped the bird aboard a Sea-Doo personal watercraft. Another sat at the controls of a helicopter. A mixed martial arts instructor posed with arms crossed. They're seen riding motorcycles, hauling in massive sailfish, slugging softballs for the "NYPD Blues," taking jump shots, running half marathons and golfing, and even giving television news interviews while selling cannoli at Manhattan's famed San Genaro festival. They are among the more than 100 retired New York City police and firefighters indicted in a massive Social Security disability scam involving hundreds of millions of dollars, authorities said. More than half the recipients received funds for fraudulent claims for PTSD in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the World Trade Center.

The main defendants include a police union official and a disability specialist who stand accused of coaching hundreds of applicants on how to fill out disability forms and how to behave during during doctor visits.

FDNY 2014 Calendar On Sale Now

Get it here.

QUEENS: 80 Homes Destroyed By Fire

Last night at least 80 homes in the Queens neighborhood of Breezy Point were destroyed in a six-alarm blaze. Firefighters faced chest-deep flood waters and rescued dozens of residents by boat.  Breezy Point and all of the Rockaways are in Zone A and those rescued had defied the mandatory evacuation order.  Over 200 firefighters responded and there were no fatalities.

Missed Connections

Tonight In New York City

Meet and mingle with the FDNY firefighters of this year's City Of The Brave calendar. Facebook event page here. News story here. More photos here. Buy calendar.

Afternoon View - My Building On Fire

So I came home from moderating a panel at the LGBT Center today and found my block jammed with fire engines, ladder trucks, and couple of ambulances. My building. On fire. Just as I got near the front of my building, Dr. Jeff came sprinting up from his place two blocks away. Jerry, my houseguest, had just called him to say that smoke was pouring under my apartment door and that he'd called 911. Oh, and would he mind dropping by to tell the fire department where he was?

The fire had started in the laundry service in the basement and all the floors were thick with smoke. I gave the firemen my apartment number and they went up and got Jerry, who was about to climb onto the fire escape with my cat, the dear man. All the other tenants were either already outside in the cold rain, or not at home. The fire was contained in the rear of the basement and after a long cold time, we were allowed inside. The lower floors are a bit sooty and my floor reeks of smoke, but other than a couple of doors smashed in by firemen looking for residents, things seem to be OK, thanks to 50 or so guys from the FDNY. I was a bit surprised by the massive response (at least two companies), but I guess when all the buildings abut each other, the FDNY doesn't mess around.

FDNY Pulls Calendar

The New York Fire Department has pulled its 2008 firefighters calendar from sale after revelations appeared on gay blogs that their cover model appeared nude in an episode of Guys Gone Wild. While 22-year old Michael Biserta of Brooklyn Ladder Co. 131 will not be disciplined, since he made the video before joining, an FDNY spokesperson says, "We will no longer be participating in this. There will be no more calendars." The decision will cost their fire safety and recruitment program about $150,000.

JMG PSA

Don't worry, JMG isn't going all beefcake/NSFW on you. It's just that I feel it's my patriotic duty to mention that the 2008 FDNY calendar came out today. Why do you hate America? The calendar raises about $150,000 annually for a non-profit fire safety and training program. Get yours here. With all the gay firemen prowling Ty's, I have to wonder if any of this year's calendar men are FDNY-FOD.

RELATED: FIREFLAG/EMS, the gay firefighters and emergency workers organization, and GOAL, the gay police officers organization, will be co-hosting the August 19th Sea Tea, a disco/buffet/booze cruise around Manhattan. See how I made this post look all legit and shit?