Silver Spring Apartment Explosion: Body Camera Video Released

SILVER SPRING, MD — Almost eight months after an explosion rocked a the Flower Branch Apartment complex in Silver Spring, Montgomery County Police and Fire & Rescue Services have released body camera footage from responding officers in a documentary-style video.

The devastating explosion and fire at the Flower Branch Apartments killed seven residents, two of whom were children, the night of August 10, 2016. More than 160 firefighters responded to the three-alarm fire at the Flower Branch Apartment building on Piney Branch Road. The incident was caused by a natural gas buildup in the basement utility room.

"Wow. Just huge flames rising in the sky, smoke everywhere. We see residents of the apartment building, neighboring apartment building, just scattered outside the apartment," Officer Nathan Bush said in the video. "It was something I'll never forget.

A total of 28 apartment units were destroyed, and 50 families were displaced by the disaster. Dozens of residents were injured at the scene, some from burns and others from broken bones as they jumped from the third and fourth floors of the buildings.

“The fire was enormous and the heat was so intense,” Sgt. Troy Brenner said. “I was probably about, I’d say 100 to 150 feet away, and you could just feel the heat. It was almost like you were standing in front of the oven with the door open.”

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The video shows officers talking about a baby boy who was dropped from a higher story window by his parents during the fire.

“Instantly, I mean as a dad, I have two young children, you know for that situation it had to be very desperate in order for a parent to drop their child out of a burning building,” Bush said.

The body camera footage later shows a heartwarming reunion between the baby and his parents.

The victims killed in the blast were:

• Deibi “David” Samir Lainez Morales, 8
• Fernando Josue Hernandez Orellana, 3
• Augusto Jimenez Sr., 62
• Maria Auxiliadorai Castellon-Martinez, 53
• Saul Paniagua, 65
• Aseged Mekonen, 34,
• Saeda Ibrahim, 40.

See the full video below:

»Main photos of Flower Branch Apartments from Fort Detrick Forest Glen Fire & Emergency Services, Takoma Park Fire Department, Montgomery County Fire Department