Gas explosion injures 9 firefighters in Seattle
An explosion triggered by a natural gas leak rattled Seattle early Wednesday morning. Nine firefighters were injured, and several buildings were destroyed or damaged.
Residents were evacuated from the city's Greenwood section following the blast.
Firefighters responded to reports of a natural gas leak, and the blast happened about 40 minutes after they arrived on scene, according to Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Corey Orvold said.
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There have been no reports of other injuries or anyone missing following the explosion, but fire officials said they were using dogs to sift through the rubble.
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The fire department posted photos to its Twitter account showing extensive damage and a partial building collapse.
Debris was spread over a wide area and the shop fronts of at least two businesses appeared to be entirely destroyed. The blast occurred at the center of the Greenwood neighborhood, which is a largely commercial area.
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According to local news outlet Seattle PI, the blast could be felt throughout northwest Seattle.
Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg said all of the firefighters were treated for injuries that ranged from burns to abrasions, and most will probably be soon released.
Orvold said an undetermined number of residents of an apartment building and another nearby residential structure were evacuated via bus.
Additional information from the Associated Press.
Megan Specia was Mashable's Assistant Real-Time News Editor and joined the team in September 2014. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism & Mass Communications from the University of New Hampshire after growing up in the Jersey 'burbs. She made her way to New York via a four year stopover in Dublin. Megan previously worked as a journalist and editor at Storyful in both Dublin and New York. Before all of that, though, her claim to fame was as head cake arranger and purveyor of all things sweet at Queen of Tarts cafe in Dublin, where she developed a serious addiction to macarons.
