An apartment explosion in Gaithersburg, Maryland, left a dozen injured, two of them critically, prompting a massive search and rescue operation Wednesday, Montgomery County’s fire chief said.
The “significant” explosion resulted in a structural collapse, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said. Light smoke continued to rise from the structure around noon.
Authorities are “still working on the basis that there are unaccounted for personnel,” Goldstein said. “We are working diligently to locate everyone on board.”
There was a “gas fire” in the basement of the building that fire crews are handling and utility workers are trying to shut off the gas to the building, he said.
At least 100 firefighters responded to the scene after receiving reports of an explosion and fire around 8:40 a.m., fire department spokesman Pete Piringer said. The complex consists of three-story buildings housing about 150 units, according to rental sites. Brown Station Elementary, less than a quarter-mile west of the complex, was under shelter, CNN affiliate WUSA reported. Students and faculty were safe, Piringer told the station.
“Washington Gas personnel are responding to assist the fire department at the scene. … We support the active response to the incident and have no further details to share at this time,” her statement said.
Ten people were taken to hospitals, including two adults in critical condition. Four adults and four children were transported with minor to moderate injuries. Two people were treated at the scene and refused to go to the hospital, Goldstein said.
The fire affected two apartment buildings with six units. Two other buildings were evacuated. Authorities house nine apartments, trying to account for the residents of each unit, Goldstein said.
Residents told authorities they smelled gas Wednesday morning. Maintenance personnel on site used a ladder to rescue a resident from the rear balcony and assisted a resident in the back of the building, the fire chief says.
Tyrell Singleton, who lives nearby and heard and felt a loud explosion before going to check on his brother-in-law’s family, who lives in the neighborhood, told CNN affiliate WJLA that he initially thought it might be an earthquake.
“It was loud,” Singleton said, leaving him to believe something had happened closer to home. Once they realized the commotion was coming from about 500 feet away, he and his stepfather ran to investigate, he said.
“All the facade of the interior of the building was gone. We saw debris, family members, everything on the ground, fire and just thick smoke,” he told the station.
The local 911 center “did not receive any calls prior to the explosion about a gas leak or smell of gas,” Goldstein said, adding that authorities are looking into whether there were any reports of a gas smell in the past week.
The fire remained active late Wednesday morning, Goldstein said, calling it a multi-day event. More information is expected in an update on Wednesday evening.
