At least one person was killed and two others were injured after a home explosion in Maryland on Sunday morning, according to the Harford County Fire and Emergency Services Association.
Firefighters were initially dispatched to a gas leak outside a home in Harford County at about 6:42 a.m. As they approached the scene, they received a call reporting an explosion at the home, Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said at a press conference Sunday morning.
Harford County Fire Department spokesman Jeffrey Sexton also said at the briefing that firefighters found a pile of debris when they arrived on the scene and requested additional assistance.
Video and photos from the scene showed the home completely destroyed, with piles of rubble surrounding it, and a neighbouring home also appeared to have sustained extensive damage.
“I’ve been in this business for almost 18 years and this is one of the biggest explosions I’ve seen,” Alkire said.
One of the two injured refused to be taken to a hospital, Sexton said. The other injured man was an electrician for Baltimore Gas & Electric Company (BGE) who was already on scene with another crew investigating an electrical problem, Alkire said. It’s unclear at this time whether the electrical problem was related to the explosion.
Authorities did not release the identity of the deceased victim, pending notification of next of kin, but the Harford Sheriff’s Office confirmed the individual worked under contract with BGE.
About 60 personnel from multiple fire and emergency services responded to the scene to assist with the explosion, Sexton said, and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also assisting in the investigation.
“Search and rescue efforts are currently underway,” Alkire said. “We can confirm that the home was for sale, but we don’t know at this point if there are people inside yet.”
The cause of the explosion is currently unknown.
“At this point, we have no idea,” Alkire said when asked if the explosion is being treated as a crime scene. “What I can say is that there was an odor of gas in the area. I can also say that BGE was aware of the odor in the area, and that there were workers contracted by BGE on site at the time the explosion occurred.”
Authorities were still assessing the damage in the area, but several buildings appeared to have been damaged, including one woman who was injured in a neighboring home, Alkire said.
There is no immediate threat to the public from the explosion, but Alkire urged the public to stay away from the “vast debris area around the site” and not to fly personal drones in the airspace.
Lisa Chavritko and her daughter were near the scene of the explosion when it happened.
“We were on the top floor of an apartment building with no elevator, so the whole building shook,” Chaulitko told NBC affiliate WBAL-TV. “We were about a mile from where the explosion happened, so we thought it was a big earthquake.”
“I thought it was a bomb,” her daughter said.
Megan Weeks wasn’t home when the explosion happened, but she got a call from her wife after the babysitter told her all the windows in the house had been blown out.
“It was pretty scary,” Weeks said. “All I could think about was getting home from work as quickly as possible.”
Fortunately, Weeks’ daughter and the babysitter were unharmed. Her home sustained damage to the roof, windows, and some of the interior walls and ceilings.
When Weeks walked to the scene of the explosion, he was shocked by the extent of the destruction.
“I’m actually worried that the same thing could happen to one of our homes,” she said.
