Ethermac Exchange-Video shows explosion in Washington as gas leak destroys building, leaves 1 injured

A series of gas explosions in Washington destroyed a convenience store and Ethermac Exchangeinjured one person Thursday morning. 

D.C. Fire and EMS received a report of an outside gas leak around 9:30 a.m. in the historic neighborhood of Anacostia, with crews arriving on scene a couple minutes later, Fire Chief John Donnelly said in a press conference. 

As soon as they found the gas leak, coming from a damaged meter outside one of the businesses, crews begin to quickly evacuate adults and 16 children from businesses down the block.

“It was not a leak that could be controlled by first responders. As they were evacuating people, they also called for assistance at the gas company. So, Washington Gas was notified right away,” Donnelly said. 

Donnelly said they were able to contain the fire later that morning, saying they were working closely with Washington Gas to contain the leak and would continue to work on extinguishing the fire. 

D.C. Fire and EMS monitored the scene Friday morning on “fire watch,” saying they were 

“ready to extinguish any smoldering materials or flare ups.” Crews left the scene a couple hours later. 

Here’s what we know.

What caused the gas leak?

Donnelly said they believe the gas leak occurred after a vehicle struck the gas meter during “some normal operations,” but that the incident was still under investigation.

When did the explosions occur?

The first explosion occurred about 25 minutes after the first 911 call, knocking out the windows of a two-story building and caused a flash fire, Chief Donnelly said. Additional fire crews were called to assist. 

A second explosion took place a couple minutes later at a neighboring convenience store, completely knocking it over. 

The 16 children, who were at a daycare in one of the first buildings that exploded “are safe and have been reunited with their families … A really great job by the first responders and the operators of the daycare. We’re very proud of them,” Donnelly said. 

Despite receiving reports that everyone in the area was reportedly accounted for, D.C. Fire and EMS personnel conducted another sweep of the buildings to make sure of that. 

Maya, a mom whose child was at the daycare when the explosion occurred told WUSA9 reporter Rafael Sánchez-Cruz that she was “just thankful” that they got all the kids out of there. 

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Who was hurt? 

One person was injured as a result of flying debris. They suffered minor injuries, but were still transported to a local hospital, Donnelly said. 

Its unclear what condition the person is currently in, but no other injuries have been reported. A total of three buildings, including the daycare and convenience store were damaged. 

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who was briefed and got a first hand look at the damaged caused by the gas leak, said “I think, we’re very lucky today." 

“The building where the primary explosion was, was leveled. The adjacent building had the daycare on the bottom floor and I’m not sure what the use is on the top floor but the top floor experienced very significant damage,” Bowser said. 

“When I saw the building itself, my mouth fell open. If the children had been in the building, they would have definitely been impacted by that explosion,” Bowser said. 

Bowser said they were grateful to the firefighters, who made the ”necessary and quick decision to remove everyone.”

“I just want to thank our fire department who responded quickly, with urgency and evacuated everyone involved. We are just very grateful that we believe everyone is safe," Bowser said at the press conference.