A New York City woman trying to bug bomb her hair salon ended up actually bombing the entire building, triggering a collapse that injured a dozen people. Probably not injured at all, dancing around like the gopher in Caddyshack, were the roaches she was trying to kill.
Police believe the explosion was triggered by a combination of the improperly used bug bombs — which included Raid fumigating foggers and Decon bug bombs — and natural gas, which may have been leaking. According to the AP, the woman forgot to turn off the pilot light when she set off about two dozen canisters on Thursday.
At least three people are now in critical care and four firefighters were injured. One unconscious man had to be pulled from a third-story window and taken to the hospital.
According to the Daily News, the building has long been a fire hazard. In 2009, inspectors found that the first floor was “sinking in middle of building," with rotting floor joists and no fire stop material in the cellar. Residents, some apparently in illegally subdivided apartments, were ordered to leave the building and the owner was fined.
“We did have existing codes violations for this building. We’re looking into them,” FDNY Assistant Chief Robert Boyce told the Daily News.
[WSJ, photo via AP]