COLUMBIA, Md. — Officials said they were formulating a plan to address a gas leak when an explosion happened at a building in Howard County, totaling several businesses and causing what many people in the area described as an earthquake.
A call came in around 7:30 a.m. Sunday after a fire alarm went off and other reports of a gas leak started coming in for the 8800 block of Stanford Boulevard, Howard County fire officials said.
Officials said they evacuated bystanders from the area, and established a perimeter outside the zone where their monitors had unsafe readings.
The explosion happened around 8 a.m. Sunday when BGE representatives were already on site, Battalion Chief Stephen Hardesty said.
"There was a small crater, about 10 feet long, couple inches wide, with natural gas leaking out of it," Hardesty said. "We were formulating a plan when the building exploded."
No one was injured, even though one of the business office buildings in the 8800 block of Stanford Boulevard is most likely totaled, Hardesty said. Some surrounding buildings were also damaged.
"It was a huge boom," Angelina White said. "We were getting up, getting ready to go to church and work this morning and all of a sudden, the windows shook in the house. The whole house shook. It kind of felt like a bigger earthquake than what we had a few years ago."
Most of the businesses in the complex are owned by local families, who are now wondering what will happen to their livelihood.
WUSA9 ran into the owner of Touchstone Physical Therapy and Wellness Sunday afternoon when he had returned to the scene to see if he could get into his business.
"We live on the other side of Columbia and we felt it at right about 8 this morning," business owner Kelly Sykes said. "I was here by about 8:30, and gas was still burning in the parking lot, and it looked like a bomb went off here."
He said, unfortunately, it looks like his place is demolished.
"It's my livelihood. It’s what I do for a living," he said. "It's how I help people, and not being able to do that for the foreseeable future, it hurts more than I care to admit, to be honest with you."
BGE crews turned off both the natural gas and electricity to buildings in the area, and those will stay off until they can be sure it's safe to turn them back on.
The leak apparently started outside the building, but Hardesty said it's common for a gas leak to migrate.
Gas explosion in Columbia, Maryland
He also said that had it been later in the day, or during the work week, the evacuation process could have taken longer. He said that might have led to injuries or deaths.
WUSA9 reporter Janice Park was able to speak with the owner Nayna Dave of Apsara Day Spa who said she was worried but grateful that nobody was inside the building or hurt.
Hardesty said there will be a lengthy investigation into what happened, involving both BGE and federal authorities in addition to the county fire department.
In a statement from BGE Communications Manager Richard Yost said.
"BGE received a gas odor call from the Howard County Fire Department this morning for the 8800 block of Stanford Blvd. While our crew member was on site, an explosion occurred. No injuries have been reported. BGE crews have turned off gas service and are currently working closely with the fire department. Once it is safe to do so, BGE will investigate the cause of the incident."
Building inspectors will be going through surrounding buildings and businesses to see which ones are safe and which must stay closed until repairs are made.
Hardesty said while this type of explosion is rare, it's not unheard of. He referenced a townhouse explosion his department handled a couple years ago, where a gas leak started after the occupant of a townhouse bumped a gas line.
Officials said there are still widespread power outages in the area, and businesses are impacted.
Officials said a Howard County government building was slightly damaged. It is across the parking lot from the explosion site The Howard County public information officer said he isn't sure if the building will be open Monday.
The Health and Education department runs out of this Howard County government building.
Gov. Larry Hogan issued a statement regarding the explosion.
"This massive explosion was felt in many of the surrounding communities, a shock to families across the area," Hogan said. "Thankfully, no injuries have been reported so far. We are grateful to Howard County first responders for being on the scene in minutes. Our Maryland Joint Operations Center and State Fire Marshal have offered their full support and assistance as we work to determine the cause of this explosion."
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
