Currently the building is too unstable to begin a search.
Meth? Gas? They don’t know yet.
www.wbal.com
An apartment building exploded and caught fire Wednesday morning in Gaithersburg, injuring as many as 12 people, including four children.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer is reporting a fire and explosion around 8:40 a.m. at an apartment building in the 800 block of Quince Orchard Boulevard. A second alarm was called as heavy fires were discovered upon arrival.
"The building has sustained a significant explosion that resulted in a collapse," Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.
The fire chief said as many as 12 people were injured -- 10 were taken to hospitals, two of which were adults taken to a trauma center, four were adults and four were children who suffered "mild to moderate" injuries. Two others were treated at the scene and declined to be taken to a hospital.
Shortly before 10 a.m., Piringer said the bulk of the fire has since been put out and the primary searches are completed while secondary searches were underway.
Firefighters evacuated neighboring buildings after the collapse, and the Red Cross is assisting displaced residents, Goldstein said.
Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted shortly before 11 a.m., saying: "The State Fire Marshal and the Maryland State Police Rockville Barrack have offered assistance with the response to this explosion."
More than 100 firefighters and rescue personnel responded to the scene.
Meth? Gas? They don’t know yet.
Gaithersburg apartment building catches on fire after explosion, 12 injured
WBAL NewsRadio 1090/FM 101.5 - A Gaithersburg apartment building caught on fire following an explosion on Wednesday morning.
www.wbal.com
An apartment building exploded and caught fire Wednesday morning in Gaithersburg, injuring as many as 12 people, including four children.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer is reporting a fire and explosion around 8:40 a.m. at an apartment building in the 800 block of Quince Orchard Boulevard. A second alarm was called as heavy fires were discovered upon arrival.
"The building has sustained a significant explosion that resulted in a collapse," Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.
The fire chief said as many as 12 people were injured -- 10 were taken to hospitals, two of which were adults taken to a trauma center, four were adults and four were children who suffered "mild to moderate" injuries. Two others were treated at the scene and declined to be taken to a hospital.
Shortly before 10 a.m., Piringer said the bulk of the fire has since been put out and the primary searches are completed while secondary searches were underway.
Firefighters evacuated neighboring buildings after the collapse, and the Red Cross is assisting displaced residents, Goldstein said.
Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted shortly before 11 a.m., saying: "The State Fire Marshal and the Maryland State Police Rockville Barrack have offered assistance with the response to this explosion."
More than 100 firefighters and rescue personnel responded to the scene.
