A kindergarten in Washington, DC, was evacuated moments before a gas leak caused a nearby building to explode on Thursday.
Multiple explosions shook several buildings along the 1200 block of Marion Barry Avenue in the Anacostia neighborhood following a Gas leak in the building, according to a series of social media updates from DC Fire and EMS.
Crews responded to the scene immediately after receiving a 911 call about the gas leak around 9:30 a.m. local time, D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly said. press conference held by Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday morning.
Although the leak was quickly found, crews soon learned it was beyond their control, Donnelly said, prompting the immediate evacuation of neighboring buildings, including 16 children in a daycare near the leak.
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Daycare staff were already dressing children and putting them in strollers when crews arrived and began clearing the buildings, Lt. Ryan Bolton told reporters, according to FOX affiliate WTTG.
All 16 children were safely evacuated moments before the first explosion, Donnelly said during a news conference, noting that all have since been reunited with their families.
“I think we’re very lucky today,” Bowser added after seeing the damage.
The leak is believed to have been caused by a vehicle that “hit the gas meter during some normal operations,” Donnelly said. He added that teams discovered the damage to the meter when they arrived at the scene.
Bolton said the crew heard the leak almost immediately upon arrival. “The gas was very noticeable,” he told reporters. “You could hear it leaking, as well as smell it from the street.”
Crews then got to work evacuating nearby buildings, with Bolton explaining, “We just wanted to make sure everyone got out of the building and the block as quickly as possible.”
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The two-story building where the gas leak occurred exploded about 25 minutes after the first 911 call, according to Donnelly. Bolton said crews were on the scene about 15 minutes before the first explosion occurred.
One of the two large explosions blew out windows on the second floor of the building where there was a leak and caused a flash of fire, the fire chief said. A second explosion flattened a store near the leak.
Three buildings were badly hit by the explosions, and Donnelly added that the kindergarten suffered “a lot of damage” as a result.
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The mayor was admittedly stunned when she saw the damage the kindergarten suffered. “When I saw the building itself, my mouth dropped because if the kids had been in that building, they would have been hit by that explosion for sure,” Bowser said.
One person was hospitalized with minor, non-life-threatening injuries sustained when they came into contact with debris from the blast while walking down the street, Donnelley said.
The fire department is working closely with Washington Gas to control the leak that caused the explosions, according to the fire chief. The fire caused by the explosion is contained and will be extinguished once the leak is under control.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Washington Gas said it was “aware of the explosion.” The utility worker added: “Our staff is helping [D.C. Fire] at the scene. As always, the safety of our customers and community is our top priority. We are supporting an active response to the incident and have no additional details to share at this time.”
Bowser, meanwhile, thanked firefighters for their “quick” response to Thursday’s emergency. “We are just grateful to the firefighters for making that necessary and quick decision to remove everything,” she added.
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Source: HIS Education