Bobcat alumni Justin Lubman and Chris Schaub were both at work when their New York apartment caught fire last week following a gas explosion a couple buildings down.
Two Ohio University alumni living in New York City watched on the news as part of their block was engulfed in flames Thursday afternoon.
Their apartment at 125 2nd Ave was involved in a gas-related explosion and fire that took place at 121 2nd Ave. — just two buildings away.
Both 121 and 123 2nd Ave. collapsed as a result of the fire. Their building was badly damaged.
Roommates Chris Schaub and Justin Lubman, who graduated in 2012 and 2013 respectively, said they were both at work when the explosion occurred. At least 22 people were injured, while 2 men were found dead Sunday, according to media reports.
“We go to look out the window and we just see a smokescreen,” Matt Biery, one of Lubman’s coworkers, said he saw from their Midtown office building, approximately 1.5 miles away. “We can barely see anything, the whole lower half of the city was just shrouded in smoke, it was absolutely unbelievable.”
Both Lubman and Schaub initially found out about the fire after friends and family members called them.
“I got a phone call from my brother saying there was an explosion in our neighborhood,” said Lubman, 24, originally from Commack, New York. “I can see the smoke from Midtown like really far away. You can even smell it in my company in Midtown.”
Schaub, 26, originally from Powell, Ohio, said he would have been home during the explosion had he not turned down an offer from his boss to take a couple weeks off while he transitioned to a new job.
“Yesterday I walked by (the buildings) … my landlord said he didn't know when or if they would give us access to the building,” Schaub said on Sunday.
The two had only lived in the apartment for about a year. Since the fire, both have found temporary places to live. Schaub is staying at his girlfriend’s home in Brooklyn.
Lubman was put up for three nights in The Standard, a hotel close to the apartment, but is now staying with his brother in SoHo.
Biery started a gofundme page for the two on Friday. That page has raised more than $9,600, just shy of its $10,000 goal. The two are also seeking help from the American Red Cross.
“I had the idea to start the gofundme to get some money for them,” Biery said. “I couldn’t imagine starting from square one, starting from nothing.”
During their time at OU, Lubman and Schaub were also roommates, at one point living at 118 Palmer St. Lubman studied nutrition and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, according to his LinkedIn. Schaub studied non-Western history and Latin American studies.
“It’s crazy, there’s people I haven’t talked to in years that are on it, just random Bobcats I haven’t met before posting on it,” Schaub said of the fundraising page.
Despite the fire, the two don’t plan on leaving New York, as they’re currently looking for another apartment together.
“I love it here, I don't think I’ll be leaving anytime soon,” Schaub said.
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