Several people went missing on Thursday afternoon, hours after a four-story apartment building collapsed outside Washington and injured 10 people, three of whom are in critical condition.
Fire Chief Scott Goldstein of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service told a news conference Thursday afternoon that “several” residents were unaccounted for after firefighters conducted a second clean-up of the Friendly Garden apartment complex in Silver Spring. Maryland. He said he could not say exactly how much, as the situation remained “ongoing”.
The fire was first reported in the apartment complex around 10:30 a.m. after an explosion tore apart one of the buildings, with a video posted online showing a fireball and a cloud of smoke pushing through the building’s outer wall as echoes echo. of rumble.
Parts of the building could be seen collapsing before a chorus of screams and a cloud of gray debris enveloped the area. Then a huge fire broke out.
Authorities said at least 12 to 18 of the apartments collapsed in the blast around 10:30 a.m. and the building was considered “uninhabitable.”
Goldstein did not specify how many people remained unaccounted for Thursday afternoon, saying their numbers were “still on the move”, but said: “Our goal is to stay here until everyone is counted.”
Authorities estimate that the building is home to about 70 people, mostly elderly people. FOX Baltimore reports such as Goldstein say they believe a total of 100 people have been displaced from the apartment building as well as those next door.
At least 10 people were injured in the blast, Goldstein said, three of whom were “seriously injured”. Others refused medical help.
That’s what Young Pak, director of media relations at Washington Hospital, said WUSA9 that three patients were treated at the MedStar Washington Burn Center but did not provide up-to-date information about their condition.
Firefighters are now planning to bring in heavy machinery to demolish “large parts of the building” that are considered “dangerous from falling” so that they can “safely” continue searching for victims.
Meanwhile, the cause of the fire remains under investigation, although some residents say they smell like gasoline before it exploded.
Goldstein said there had been no previous calls about petrol problems.
“It is too early to say what initiated this,” he said. “We are working on a wide range of issues and opportunities and the focus is on life safety at the moment.”
A video posted online shows the moment one of the Friendly Garden Apartment buildings exploded on Thursday morning.
Black smoke can be seen rising in the sky after the collapse of a residential building in Silver Spring, Maryland around 10:30 p.m.
Emergency personnel immediately responded to the scene of the apartment complex and spent hours trying to put out the fire and extinguish hotspots.
At least 10 people were injured in the blast, with three in critical condition, according to fire chief Scott Goldstein.
Authorities said at least 12 to 18 of the apartments collapsed in the blast around 10:30 a.m. and the building was deemed “unsafe.”
Teams from six or seven different fire stations responded to the call at around 10:30 a.m., with 60 fire engines and up to 150 firefighters from across the region descending on Lytonsville Road, according to Washington Post.
They arrived to find all four stories completely engulfed in flames, Goldstein said, and Pete Pinger, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said CNN and they were able to make several rescues immediately.
More than 120 firefighters remained on the scene until Thursday afternoon, conducting a second search of all neighboring buildings to make sure no one was detained.
They managed to control most of the fire by 2 pm and continued to work on extinguishing hot spots, according to FOX 5 DC.
But photos and video from the scene show that part of the building has completely disappeared – apparently leveled in a pile of smoldering debris.
Firefighters worked at the scene, using a search for K9 to determine if anyone was left under the rubble.
More than 120 firefighters remained on the scene Thursday afternoon to control the situation
At least “several” people went missing on Thursday afternoon as fire crews brought in heavy machinery to tear down the last free-standing wall.
Residents who were in the complex on Thursday morning described what it was like to have an earthquake or a bomb just as the explosion and fire broke out.
Tito Garcia, 40, said he was taking a bath when he felt his apartment shake in a nearby building.
He said he thought the tenant above him had just dropped something, he told the Washington Post, while his neighbor, Silvia Bunyasi, 48, shouted that there was ash outside the window.
At that moment, Garcia said he grabbed his 13-year-old son and tried to escape from the back of their building – but it was blocked by debris engulfed in flames.
“The flames looked as if they would reach the trees,” Bunyasi said. “The building was completely engulfed.
‘We could feel it; we felt how hot it was, “she added.
Black smoke rises miles after the collapse, and witnesses describe how they saw people trying to jump out of windows, according to WUSA 9.
Steve Inman, who had just returned from the gym and was preparing food at his family’s house nearby, also said he heard a “big boom” and rushed to the apartment building to find that the building had fallen and the top is cut off.
“The first thing I saw was a woman and her child screaming, saying she couldn’t come out,” he said. NBC 4. I told her, “Try to get away.”
“That’s when I saw the baby.” So I said to myself, “Just throw me the baby. Don’t worry – I’ll catch her.” I caught the baby.
More teams from six or seven different fire stations responded to the call at around 10.30am, with 60 fire engines and about 150 firefighters
Smoke continued to fill the air for hours after the fire ended Thursday afternoon. The cause is still under investigation
Residents’ personal belongings were scattered across the lawn after the apartment building collapsed
The buses on the spot provided shelter to the displaced residents. It is unclear when they will be able to return to their apartments, but employees hope to at least be able to pick up their belongings by evening.
Montgomery County Health and Human Services said it would open a shelter for the victims, and the Red Cross and state and county officials said they were working to provide victims with permanent housing.
and Montgomery County Executive Director Mark Elrich called the situation “downright depressing” at a press conference earlier this afternoon.
“It was horrifying when you looked at a building and saw it gutted and its walls torn down,” he said.
“You see all the debris piled up, and all you can think about is ‘What happened to the people?’
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also said his team was in contact with county officials and “offered their full assistance in response to the fire and explosion at Silver Spring.”
Another press briefing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, and anyone who wants to help those affected by the fire can donate to MHPartners.org/families-affected-by-LyttonsvilleRoad-fire.