THE BRONX, NY — One fire chief was killed and more than 20 others were injured when a possible marijuana grow house exploded in the Bronx's Kingsbridge neighborhood early Tuesday morning during an investigation into a possible gas leak near West 234th Street and Tibbett Avenue, according to the Fire Department of the City of New York. "It's a very sad day for our city," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday. "We had a tragedy today."



The fireman who died has been identified as 17-year department veteran Michael Fahy, chief of the FDNY's 19th Battalion and a father to three young children — two boys and a girl, ages 6, 8 and 11. He reportedly lived in Yonkers. Also transported to nearby hospitals with minor injuries, according to fire officials: six officers with the New York City Police Department; two workers with the Con Edison gas company; three civilians; and nine other firefighters.



Video shot from a nearby apartment, and obtained by ABC7, shows firefighters rushing to assist Fahy in the panicked aftermath of the explosion: EXCLUSIVE video shows #FDNY battalion chief being helped after #BronxExplosion and section of roof that struck him. pic.twitter.com/Qzi0uEn7yB

— Marcus Solis (@MarcusSolis7) September 27, 2016 Fahy was "one of our rising stars," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said with tears in his eyes at a press conference Tuesday morning at the New York-Presbyterian branch at the northern tip of Manhattan, where Fahy had been declared dead hours earlier.



"We lost a hero today," the commissioner said.



"It's a terrible loss for the Fahy family," Nigro, who knew Fahy's father (also a fireman), told a crowd of reporters at the hospital. "It's a loss for the fire department family. We are a family. We feel it deeply. We feel it deeply today."