Smiling fire selfie sparks controversy

Group snaps pic in front of deadly NYC fire

NEW YORK ā€“ A group of friends is quickly learning that there are better places to take a selfie photo than in front of a deadly building fire.

Within hours of last week's New York City building explosion that killed two people and injured 22 others, the group of smiling women used a selfie stick to take a picture with the flames behind them.

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An event photographer for a local blog caught the photo being snapped and immediately posted it to Twitter.

The picture received instant negative feedback with one person saying it was "absolutely disgusting," while another adding that the picture is "everything that's wrong with NYC summed up in one photo."

The New York Post put the picture on the front cover of its Sunday edition with the caption "Village Idiots."