All Residents Accounted For In Silver Spring Apartment Explosion

SILVER SPRING, Md. (WJZ) -- A total of fourteen people were hurt in Thursday's explosion at a Silver Spring apartment complex and everyone who lives there has been accounted for, Montgomery County officials said Friday.

Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said that on top of 10 people taken to hospitals Thursday, several others took themselves to the hospital after the blast. Three of them have serious injuries and the rest have minor and moderate injuries.

"All known residents of the building have been contacted and accounted for," said Goldstein, who noted that first responders do not know whether there were any visitors inside the building at the time of the incident.

Of the 14 people hurt, 12 are adults and two are children, Goldstein said, and one of the children is among the three purple with serious injuries.

Seven people have already been released from the hospital after receiving treatment.

K-9 units searching for human remains at the site have alerted first-responders about a scent in a corner of the building, but it's not clear if someone is trapped in the rubble or if the smell is associated with someone's clothes, he said. Crews are removing debris by hand in that area.

The cause remains under investigation, but one of the theories investigators are exploring is whether plumbing work by a maintenance worker had anything to do with what transpired, the fire chief said.

Investigators found a cut gas pipe in the basement of the building and are working to determine a source of ignition, Goldstein said.

The worker, who was injured in the blast, is cooperating with the investigation, the chief said, but based on preliminary information, investigators do not believe his work involved a torch or anything flammable.

"We cannot rule out any of our active theories and cannot identify that that was the cause of the explosion," Goldstein said.

The chief said work is underway to stabilize the site of the explosion so that search-and-rescue crews can search the pile of rubble and debris field for items of interest and anyone besides residents who might have been inside.

"We could have somebody unknown to the occupants in the building at the time of the explosion," he said. "We are not discounting the fact that somebody has become a victim of this explosion and is in that rubble pile until we have removed that pile down to the slab of the first floor."

He said canines were on site to assist with the search and once it's safe to do so, first responders will comb through the debris by hand in search of clues and people.

Although three buildings were deemed uninhabitable Thursday, Goldstein said, all six buildings on property lost power due to a transformer that was damaged in the blast. As a result, roughly 225 residents were displaced.

Most of those people stayed with family and friends, the chief said. Once the transformer is replaced, he said, officials anticipate the residents of the three buildings that weren't damaged can return home.

County Executive Marc Elrich said the building underwent a fire inspection Feb. 2, a little more than a month ago.

The explosion happened about 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters arrived in time to pull several people from the building before it was engulfed in flames. Crews were able to quickly get the fire under control.

Surveillance video shared with WJZ shows the moment the building exploded, showering the surrounding area with debris.

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