Pigtown explosion injures three people, destroys homes in Southwest Baltimore
BALTIMORE -- Three people—including a teenager—were injured after a house exploded in Southwest Baltimore Tuesday afternoon.
The victims were a 16-year-old girl, a 48-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man according to a Baltimore city fire official. Officials also announced on Twitter that one of the victims had serious injuries and two others had critical injuries.
The house in the 1100 block of Bayard Street in Baltimore's Pigtown neighborhood exploded sometime after 2 p.m.
Assistant Fire Chief Roman Clark said the 70-year-old man had attempted to help the two female fire victims.
"Two of the civilians were inside the home," Clark said. "The male victim, who was outside the home, was trying to help rescue the two female victims from inside the home."
Residents told WJZ that they heard and in some cases felt the explosion from blocks away.
"The first thing I thought about was 9/11," Baltimore resident Octavia Robbs said. "It was the sound and the debris."
A resident also shared a video of a dog they saw running from the scene. The resident said they gave the animal water and then called animal control.
"The dog was actually burned, the paws were burned, her chest was," Adonis Green told WJZ.
For nearly an hour after the explosion, the fire kept on burning. Baltimore fire said BGE later cut off a ruptured gas line.
BGE confirmed with WJZ they'd just completed upgrades in October to a gas main that services this same block.
"Once the location is deemed safe for access, we will assist Baltimore City Fire Department in its investigation as to the cause of the incident," BGE said in a statement. "BGE completed upgrades in October to the gas main that services the 1100 block of Bayard Street."
On Tuesday afternoon, building inspectors evaluated the stability of adjacent homes.
And in the evening, crews were seen going door to door as the investigation into what caused the explosion continues.
"I'm a little worried about it," Baltimore resident Tom Breyer said. "If it's one house, then what's going to happen to a couple of other ones?"
