WASHINGTON — Cleanup is underway in Anacostia after a gas leak explosion destroyed a convenience store on Thursday morning.
The explosion also damaged the buildings on both sides of the store on Marion Barry Avenue SE, including Calvary Women’s Services.
Calvary Women’s Services CEO Kris Thompson said the people inside the building evacuated safely minutes before the explosion due to a gas leak. City officials said 16 children at the day care center on the other side, where investigators believe the leak came from, evacuated safely as well.
One person was injured by flying debris but is expected to fully recover.
The fire chief said a truck hit and broke a gas line open that made it hard to shut off.
“We’ve had water damage caused by putting the fire out and we’ve had windows out from the gas explosion,” Thompson told WUSA9. “We have vendors who are coming out to help us get the power back on then begin the water remediation.”
All of the women served at the Marion Barry Avenue location were moved to another shelter. Calvary Women’s Services provides transitional and permanent housing to women experiencing homelessness and domestic violence.
The program serves about 45 women at a time, per Thompson.
“There’s that feeling of unsettledness, and we'll make sure to have staff around days and weeks to come to make sure women aren't anymore unsettled than they have to,” Thompson added. “Some of this is about ensuring that women's whose lives were turned upside down can get stabilized as quickly as possible.”
Anyone wanting to support the organization, can donate to the client needs fund.
In a statement to WUSA9 on Friday morning, Washington Gas said, “Washington Gas personnel remain at the scene and are in the process of restoration of the 44, mainly business customers. We remain focused on the safety of our customers and community. This is our top priority, and we continue to work closely with the authorities.”
Fire crews were also out to extinguish any smoldering pieces or flare ups through Friday afternoon.
Anacostia residents including Shelia King said the convenience store collapsing is also leaving a bigger gap in a community already in a food desert.
“They have to catch the bus or walk, and walking in weather like this is no joke,” King said. “It helps when you just need something right on the spot and you don't have to go catch two buses or ride all those stops to get to a grocery store.”
Other neighbors have complained of smelling gas weeks prior to the incident. DC Fire said investigators are looking into that but so far, they believe don’t believe any ongoing issues are related to the explosion.