Virginia home explodes with fire crews inside, leaving firefighter dead and 13 injured, officials say

WUSA, CNN

By Christal Hayes and Paradise Afshar, CNN

(CNN) — A house exploded in Sterling, Virginia, on Friday night as fire crews were inside checking a gas leak, leaving one firefighter dead and at least 13 others injured, including 11 first responders, officials say.

The injured first responders and two civilians were hospitalized after the blast, according to Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Their injuries ranged from severe to less severe. Four of the first responders remained hospitalized Saturday morning, according to an update from Fire and Rescue.

The department identified the deceased firefighter as 45-year-old Trevor Brown, who was with the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company and had been affiliated with Loudoun County Fire and Rescue since 2016.

Crews responded to the home around 7:40 p.m. ET Friday after getting a 911 call about a gas odor coming from the residence, the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System said in a news release Saturday.

“Upon arrival, units from Sterling located a 500-gallon underground propane tank with a leak on the side of the residence” and called for a hazardous materials response team, the release said.

A short time later, a “catastrophic explosion” took place, the release said.

Multiple maydays and calls for help came from the wreck, and crews rushed to find and rescue firefighters in the debris, officials said. Officials said there were “varying degrees of injuries.”

Photos and video of the aftermath of the show a huge plume of smoke billowing from the leveled home with debris scattered into the street. Multiple fire trucks and emergency vehicles could be seen responding.

Loudoun County Fire and Rescue assistant chief of operations James Williams described the scene as “total devastation.”

“This is the worst call that we can respond to,” he said. “This is a time where we need to support each other and hold each other up.”

The two civilians were home at the time of the incident, and they were transported with minor injuries, a department spokeswoman told CNN via email.

The cause of the explosion is being investigated but officials said it is believed to have been an isolated incident and that there isn’t an ongoing threat to the community.

Sterling is about 20 miles northwest of Arlington and is less than 5 miles north of Washington Dulles International Airport and a few miles south of the Maryland border.

A man who lives nearby said it “looked like an inferno” when the home exploded.

“It was horrific,” John Padgett told CNN affiliate WUSA.

This is a developing story and will be updated. CNN’s Rebekah Riess contributed.

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