NY1 Reports Gas; White House Says Not Terrorism

NY1 reports on the explosion on the Upper East Side this morning:

Firefighters are on the scene of a major explosion on 62nd Street between Park and Madison Avenues on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, which is sending white plumes of smoke across the island.

The Fire Department was flooded with calls as far north as 66th Street about a loud explosion followed by a building collapse just before 9 a.m. Monday. The fire has since gone to five alarms and 138 firefighters have responded to the call.

It’s unclear if there are any victims trapped inside, but firefighters appear to be searching the rubble for survivors. There are reports there was a doctor’s office on the first floor of the three story building and residences on the other two floors.

So far, four people are reportedly injured, two of whom were treated at the scene and two of whom were transported to an area hospital.

Con Edison is also on the scene and has turned off the gas and electric service to the area, as is normal procedure and is conducting an investigation to determine the source of the explosion. Witnesses are reporting a strong odor of gas in the area, indicating that it could have been a natural gas explosion.

There were some questions as to whether terrorism could possibly be to blame for the explosion, particularly for witnesses who lived through September 11th and for whom the plume of smoke is all too reminiscent of that day, but the White House has issued a statement saying that terrorism is not involved.

Not to be overly conspiracy minded, but how does the White House know that stuff so quickly?