One Dead, 17 Injured in North Carolina Explosion

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina firefighters responding to a gas leak were evacuating people from a building Wednesday morning when it exploded, killing one and injuring more than a dozen others, officials said. Durham Fire Chief Robert Zoldos said the blast at 10:07 a.m. involved five buildings on the block and catastrophically damaged one. "It looks like the front of the Pentagon on 9/11 — but on a very, very small scale," he said, noting that he was a first responder during the terrorist attack. Now that the fires have been contained, crews will begin search and rescue operations, Zoldos said at a news conference. No one is unaccounted for, the chief said, but they'll use dogs and listening devices to make sure no one is inside the rubble. A total of 17 people were seen at hospitals — six in critical condition and one transported to a burn center — Durham EMS Assistant Chief Lee Van Vleet said. Zoldos said one firefighter was seriously injured and in surgery but expected to recover. A contractor boring under a sidewalk hit a 2-inch (5-centimeter) gas line, triggering the explosion, Durham Police Department spokesman Wil Glenn said. After the blast, acrid smoke hung over the downtown shopping district created from remodeled tobacco warehouses. Ladder trucks sprayed blasts of water into the smoldering rubble hours after the explosion, and Zoldos said fare-ups and hotspot were a concern.   Jim Rogalski, 58, was working in his office across the street...
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Major Incidents News Mass Casualty Incidents Source Type: news