we're also going to bring in adam reese, who is also reporting on -- as we've been telling folks, this fire in lower manhattan. fdny officials saying at least one person critically injured. but the firefighters are on the scene. adam, if you can hear me there, i know it's chaotic. can you tell me where you are and what they can see? >> i'm on the corner of 9th street and first avenue. i was just briefed by one of the chiefs here it is still an active fire. there are two buildings that are active. they are responding. 50 units have responded so far. 200 firefighters on the scene. i'm told these are old tenant buildings. partially levelled as part of the explosion. currently a fire in two of the buildings. as you know, this comes about a year after the explosion in

for the latest i'm joined live by adam reese. adam, what's the latest down there? >> reporter: lawrence good evening. firefighters still here on the scene. the good news is it's been raining, so that should assist them. inspectors are here as well. but they believe this was a gas-related explosion associated with work being done in the building. 19 people injured, four seriously. some 200 firefighters battling the blaze here all afternoon. fire raging through these buildings. smoke billowing across the neighborhood here on the lower east side of manhattan. eyewitnesss said it was the scene of chaos. they heard and felt the explosion. people ran out of the buildings with whatever they had on. some people coming down the stairs. a couple people jumping out of low-floor windows. one eyewitness described people walking around dazed and confused and bloody. this amp, gas inspectors came to the japanese restaurant to inspect gas and plumbing work being done. it did not pass inspection, did not pass muster. about an hour later, the building exploded. lawrence? >> adam ree

msnbc's adam reese joins us from the scene on east village new york. what can you tell us this morning? >> reporter: jose, good morning. the fire department telling us within the last hour they're still looking for two unaccounted people. a 23-year-old man nicholas figueroa, his parents looking for him. he may have been having lunch in the japanese restaurant on the ground floor of the building that collapsed. one collapse two partial collapses here. 25 people injured. 4 critically. eyewitnesses say when the explosion happened they could feel it. they could hear it. people running on to the streets with whatever clothes they had, some people jumping from lower floors. other people coming down the fire escape. one eyewitness described people walking around dazed and confused and bloody. now, about an hour before the explosion, gas inspectors were here from con ed. the japanese restaurant was going from one meter to two meters. they were expanding the gas in-line, and in about, at that time the inspector said that this inspection doesn't pass muster and

>> adam reese reporting in brooklyn, new york.k you. >>> the national headquarters of the university of oklahoma fraternity suspended over a racist chant has announced new policies to eliminate racial discrimination. it was earlier today the national officials announced a new four-part initiative. it comes after sae members at the university of oklahoma were caught on tape singing a racist chant. >> and so as of last week we started a comprehensive investigation of all of our chapters to determine if any others have engaged in behavior similar to what we saw on the video. >> sae has also set up a new confidential hot line to report inappropriate behavior. both the ou chapter and the university have hired lawyers since the incident. meanwhile, officials are working to figure out who spray painted three swastikas inside a jewish fraternity held at vanderbilt university. similar acts of vandalism have been reported at frats at emery university and uc davis. and the university of houston has suspended the sigma chi fraternity followin