WASHINGTON (WSVN) — People were safely evacuated from buildings, including children at a daycare, minutes before a gas explosion caused destruction in Washington, D.C.
Officials said a gas explosion destroyed a building and ignited a two-alarm blaze on the 1200 block of Marion Barry Avenue, at around 10 a.m., Thursday.
Firefighters were dispatched to a building about half an hour before the explosion to investigate a possible gas leak. The explosion then occurred on the second floor of one of the buildings.
“They were actually doing a pretty good job before we ever got here. The day care staff was clothing the children, putting their coats on, getting them into their strollers so they can be brought out of the building when I made initial contact with the staff,” said D.C. Fire Department spokesperson Vito Maggiolo.
Fire officials put out a picture on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to express their gratitude to the police for what they call “situational awareness.”
‘We all knew natural gas is flammable. We all know it doesn’t take anything more than a spark to ignite it in some cases,” said Maggiolo. “We were able to smell the gas in the street, making us believe that the gas was building up inside the building would be at a higher level.”
Shortly after finding the gas leak, crews evacuated the area. About 15 minutes later, the gas exploded on the second floor in one of the buildings.
Officials said the explosion was triggered after a meter outside was damaged when it was struck by a car.
The building where the gas exploded has since collapsed. One person suffered minor injuries after being hit by flying debris after that explosion.
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