District of Columbia fire officials on Thursday said fire crews rushed to clear out a day care center and convenience store before consecutive gas explosions destroyed the minimart and damaged the day care.
D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said everyone from both buildings had been evacuated — including 16 children — prior to the blast around 10 a.m. in Anacostia, a neighborhood in the Southeast part of the city.
“Those people were evacuated right away by staff and by the fire department,” Chief Donnelly said. “All 16 of those children are safe, and they’ve been reunited with their families.”
One person was hurt by flying debris, the chief said, and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Authorities said the cause of the explosion is being investigated.
The chief said fire crews quickly learned they couldn’t stop the source of the gas leak once they arrived on the 1200 block of Marion Barry Avenue SE about 30 minutes before the explosions.
Firefighters then moved to empty everyone out of the building that houses a Baby Einstein day care center and an unaffiliated second-story office.
Shortly after the building was cleared, the first explosion knocked out the structure’s windows and created a fire inside.
Additional crews were called in to get control of the flames when a second blast flattened the Dan Akil Convenience Store.
“When I saw the building itself, my mouth fell open, because the children had been in that building” Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the scene. “They would have very definitely been impacted by that. So we’re just grateful to the firefighters for making the necessary and quick decision to remove everyone.”
Update 2nd Alarm explosion & fire 1200 block Marion Barry Ave SE. 1 building has collapsed and on fire. 2nd building damaged by explosion. We are working on protecting adjacent structures. #DCsBravest pic.twitter.com/qORK5xZWnR
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) January 18, 2024
Chief Donnelly reported that both buildings will be searched once the fire is fully extinguished.
Ms. Bowser said her team is talking with Washington Gas about getting the gas shut off to the building, which may affect other businesses on the strip.
The chief commented that the preliminary belief is the gas meter was damaged by a vehicle during normal business operations.
Gas remnants from the meter were still creating small explosions at the scene, authorities said, but the threat of a larger fire has been handled.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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