Maryland Apartment Blast: 'I Think I Lost a Friend'

SILVER SPRING, MD — A blast felt for blocks leveled two Silver Spring apartment buildings, sparked a fire fed by natural gas lines, claimed at least two lives, possibly more, and had Montgomery County officials searching for answers as to what caused the late-night explosion.

An off-duty Montgomery County Police officer working near the Flower Branch Apartments in the 8600 block of Piney Branch Road Wednesday night called 911 at 11:55 p.m. Wednesday to report the explosion and fire. Nearby, crews at the Four Corners Fire Station 16 felt the “boom” of the apartment building being leveled and knew they were needed.

Families ran for their lives. Those who were trapped by flames dropped children from the third and fourth floors to friends and strangers below, who caught the youngsters, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.

Then parents and others jumped to safety, fracturing bones in the process.

Carlos Ingles told NBC Washington that he and others ran to help. "Children, they were thrown from the top. I don't have words," Ingles said.

A set of parents tossed their baby to Ingles, who safely caught the child; he saw two other children jump down into rescuers' arms.

»SEE ALSO:

• Maryland Apartment Explosion: 2 Dead, 32 Injured, Others Missing [UPDATED]
  
• How to Help Victims of Maryland Apartment Fire
  

Thirty-one people were taken to area hospitals for treatment, along with three firefighters who suffered from heat exhaustion. By Thursday afternoon, county officials said two bodies were found in the rubble, and possibly five people were unaccounted for, and could be dead, but the number was in flux.

Willie Morales was walking across Piney Branch Road back to the apartment building when he was rocked by the explosion and saw flames coming from the basement and first floor of the building.

He said he screamed, “Fire! Fire! You have to get out!” in English and Spanish while beating on windows to wake residents up. “I’ve never seen a fire like this in my life,” Morales told The Washington Post.

William Callejos, who lives in an apartment behind the two that caught fire, told Patch the explosion woke up his family shortly after midnight.

He and his 18-year old son, who was playing games on his phone, stood outside the buildings on a grassy area under a few trees with other onlookers Thursday afternoon.

"I think I lost a friend," said Callejos, who said a man he called Olsa, about 60 years old, is missing.

Firefighters and others spent the day shoring up the rubble so searchers could remove two bodies found by specially trained dogs. It was early Thursday evening before the two victims were taken from the scene, and they have not yet been identified, the newspaper said.

Several residents are still unaccounted for, officials said, and the two victims had not yet been identified.

Some residents of the apartments told reporters that natural gas was smelled inside the apartment before the explosion. Police and fire officials said it's too early to know what caused the fire.

Montgomery County Council member Marc Elrich said that a natural gas odor was reported on July 25.

At a Thursday evening press briefing, county officials said firefighters responded to that complaint, could not verify the smell and left the scene. Washington Gas issued a statement Thursday saying it is cooperating in the investigation into the explosion, as well as the early complaint of a gas smell.

Tracking Missing, Reuniting Families

The fire investigation will be handled by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service once the ongoing rescue/recovery operation is complete. That operation is hampered by a concern that the building is in danger of collapse, Elrich said. Officials are seeking information from anyone who knows of missing and unaccounted for people who may have been in the apartment building.

Residents who need to report persons unaccounted for after last night's fire should contact MC 311, says the county's emergency management office. MC 311 will not be able to provide the location of missing persons but will get the information to fire investigations for follow-up. MC311 has extended hours until midnight on Thursday.

Anyone who lives outside Montgomery County should call 240-777-0311 to ask about fire victims.

Anyone with missing relatives can also walk into Rolling Terrace Elementary School, 705 Bayfield St. in Takoma Park, where a meeting center has been established.

Reunification will resume at 8 a.m. Friday at the Long Branch Community Recreation Center, 8700 Piney Branch Road.

Montgomery County Public Libraries Long Branch at 8800 Garland Ave. is providing services to support residents who lost their homes and personal belongings. The library will reopen at 10 a.m. Friday. The library offers:

• Spanish speakers on staff
• Computers and laptops for work and personal use
• Charging stations
• Free fast wi-fi
• Books, toys, and games
• Air conditioning

By Thursday afternoon, with nearly 100 displaced residents taking refuge at the Long Branch Community Center, county residents were being asked to donate baby formula and diapers. And plans came together for broader ways to assist those who lost everything.

Many of the apartment complex residents are immigrants, officials said. Bilingual specialists in Spanish and Amharic (for Ethiopian families)wewre at the community center to help families, and a clinic across the road from the community center was taking walk-in patients to get people medications and to provide followup care for anyone discharged from the hospital.

Donations should not be taken to the Long Branch Center; a list of nonprofit agencies that are able to accept clothing and other items is posted below. Cash donations should be made to the American Red Cross.

How to Help Apartment Fire Victims
Montgomery County officials said residents who want to donate either goods or money to help the Long Branch fire victims can do so several ways. There is an immediate need for baby formula and diapers, which should be taken to CASA, at 734 University Blvd. East in Silver Spring.

MAIL (via check) FINANCIAL DONATION

Mail it to: Montgomery Housing Partnership (Attn: Long Branch Fire), 12200 Tech Road, Suite 250, Silver Spring, MD 20904[*] Write LONG BRANCH FIRE in check memo.

ONLINE FINANCIAL DONATION
(Easiest - and preferred) [1] Go to the Montgomery Housing Partnershp website: www.MHPartners.org [2] Click on "Give Direct" (on right side of your screen) [3] Input amount and credit card number[*] Make sure you indicate LONG BRANCH FIRE in the 'comment' box.
GOODS
Toiletries, canned/boxed food, and clothing should be taken to the CASA Welcome Center, 734 University Blvd. East (Off University Blvd, just south of Piney Branch)
CASA Welcome Center, 734 University Blvd East (Off University Blvd, just south of Piney Branch)

A Wider Circle, 9151 Brookeville Rd., Silver Spring Phone #:301-608-3504 Call for pick-up; drop-off furniture 7 days a week

Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington, 501 Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, Phone #: 301-585-6556
Donations:

• Checks can be sent to ACSGW at 501 Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (Make checks payable to ACSGW) Emergency Fund.
• Online and pay via PayPal and mark it “Other” or Emergency Fund at www.acsgw.org
• Clothing, houseware items, toiletries, blankets, sheets, etc. are needed --- No furniture

ACSGW will be open for calls and services at the following days and times during this weekend:

• Friday – 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
• Saturday – 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.
• Sunday – 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

The agency has a Spanish-speaking case manager for any help or questions.

Downtown Silver Spring's BurgerFi will donate 10 percent of all sales between 11 a.m. and noon on Friday, Aug. 12, to the Flower Branch Apartment residents that were affected by the fire.

»Flower Branch fire photos courtesy of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services

— Patch Editor Mary Ann Barton reported from the fire scene.