Three children and one adult who were renting the lower part of a house on Long Island were hurt when an apparently "overpressurized" boiler blew early Friday, fire officials said.
One of the three kids was taken to a hospital after the reported blast on Expressway Drive North in Medford around 6:30 a.m., but that child was expected to be OK. The other three victims were said to have suffered minor injuries, including a 6-year-old who was hurt by flying debris.
The home suffered severe structural damage and has been condemned. The boiler was said to have blown straight through walls and left a hole on the side of the house. A neighbor said the explosion was so powerful, it even moved his couch.
Medford's fire chief says the blast sent the oil burner slamming into one of the home's bedrooms where several kids were sleeping, and that it was amazing no one was seriously hurt.
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"There were bunk beds there and the bunk beds are split apart (now)," Barry said. "So there was some force there."
The Red Cross said six adults and four children were living at the home in total, including the home's owner and families in three other apartments. Officials are investigating to determine whether the apartments were illegal. The residents of the home did not comment, as they moved their belongings out of the home.
A joint investigation by the Brookhaven Town Fire Marshal's Office and the Suffolk County Police Arson Squad as to what caused the explosion is ongoing.
