Fire crews responded to reports of an explosion and fire Friday at a San Francisco Bay Area apartment complex that left two people critically burned, a fire captain said.
Contra Costa Fire Capt. Kent Kirby said fire crews were called to the four-unit complex in Walnut Creek around 10 a.m. and had the blaze mostly extinguished within an hour, but not before part of the building collapsed.
Lori Meyers, a witness who works in an office building about a quarter mile away, said she felt a jolt.
“A bunch of people thought it was an earthquake, but it was a harder and faster hit than that,” she said. “To me, it felt like a car hit the building.”
Bob Grossman, who lives nearby, said he arrived at the scene to find flames 20 to 30 feet in the air.
“The blast was incredible,” he told KNTV. “I mean it shook our windows, knocked over a little furniture. It was an incredible impact.”
The two burn victims were airlifted to a hospital.
Crews were investigating what started the fire and trying to confirm whether there had been an explosion.
“It’s still an unfolding incident, but it’s a very unstable building right now,” he said.
Part of the building’s top floor was missing, and debris was strewn all around.
Crews turned off gas and electric service to the torched apartment complex and were standing by in case power to other properties had to be shut off, Nicole Liebelt, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokeswoman, said.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Woodside Musical Theatre proudly presents Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert — the company’s … Read moreJESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in Concert
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
Dirk van Ulden said:
LittleFoot said:
Good luck. There is no more selfish + ugly community than Burlingame.
CA Is Burning said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.