GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Editor's Note: Click here for the latest update on the Gaithersburg explosion.
Officials with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue (MCFRS) are now saying 14 people were injured in an explosion and fire that ripped through the Potomac Oaks Condominium Complex in Gaithersburg, Maryland Wednesday morning. All but one of the people injured have been treated and released.
Of the 10 people hospitalized Wednesday - four of whom were children - only one man remains hospitalized Thursday, in stable condition, MCFRS Chief Scott Goldstein said. The other nine people have been discharged. So far, 12 families (34 people) have checked in with a sheltering task force at Bohrer Park, Goldstein added.
Residents of one of the affected units are still unaccounted for, and the chief said the building's construction has made it difficult to access, particularly the concrete floors dating back to 1967. Rescue crews searched the rubble with K9s Wednesday and have found no signs of anything, so the hope is they weren't home when the explosion happened. The dogs were back at the scene Thursday to continue the search, with firefighters carefully mapping the debris field.
"We know people can survive for days, in building collapses," Goldstein said. "At the same, relating to a collapse and a fire, as we've experienced with other events in Montgomery County, those are mounting odds for a survivor to survive in that building."
One of the survivors was back at scene Thursday, in slippers and pajamas to check on the status of her apartment.
"I have a wonderful family, wonderful friends," school teacher Michelle Conklin-Kusel said. "I feel very uncertain about the future, what's going to happen next."
The investigation remains a joint operation with MCFRS, Montgomery County Police, Gaithersburg City Police, and specialists from the federal. Officials say natural gas fueled the fire, but they're unsure if it caused the explosion.
"We do not want to say this is a gas explosion or a gas leak," Goldstein stated about the possible cause of the explosion. "It is extraordinarily too early for us to say that was the initial event that created the emergency that we have here."
This is the second apartment explosion this year in Montgomery County. Back in March, 14 people were injured in a large explosion and fire at the Friendly Garden Apartments in Silver Spring.
Back in 2016, the Flower Branch Apartments were rocked by a natural gas explosion that killed seven people and injured nearly 70 others.
"Three is too many, but it's also not a widespread problem, particularly when you account for the fact that these could be totally different causes, absolutely unrelated," Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said when asked about the county's history with gas explosions.
Read more related coverages of the fire and explosion in Gaithersburg