Two people found dead, one injured after Maryland house explosion: Authorities

(BEL AIR, Md.) — Two people were found dead and another was injured after an explosion Sunday morning leveled a home and damaged multiple neighboring residences in a suburban Baltimore neighborhood, authorities said.

The blast was reported around 6:42 a.m. on Arthur Woods Drive in the Harford County city of Bel Air, about 32 miles north of Baltimore, according to officials.

A 35-year-old contractor for Baltimore Gas and Electric was confirmed as the person killed by the explosion, Master Deputy Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said Sunday. The name of the BGE contractor was not immediately released. A female neighbor living adjacent to the home that exploded was also injured, suffering cuts and bruises, and treated at the scene, Alkire said.

At 6:00 p.m. Sunday, Harford County officials said another victim was found dead in the rubble, bringing the death toll to two.

The identity of the second individual will be released by the medical examiner’s office, officials said.

At least 12 families have been displaced by the blast, according to officials, who noted the total number of damaged structures is still being counted.

A photo posted on X by Harford County Fire and Emergency Medical Services showed firefighters battling a small fire and searching the remains of the home, which was reduced to splintered pieces of wood, insulation and other debris.

“I’ve been on the job for 18 years and this was one of the largest explosions I’ve seen,” Alkire said during a news conference earlier Sunday.

Alkire said firefighters from the Harford County Fire Department were responding to a report of a gas leak in the area when the explosion occurred.

Jeffrey Sexton, a spokesperson for the Harford County Fire and EMS Association, confirmed that the remains of the BGE worker were found in a large debris field caused by the explosion.

Search-and-rescue crews on Sunday afternoon were still combing “piece by piece” through the rubble, which stretched across multiple blocks, officials said.

Alkire said that at least two BGE contract workers had also responded to the area before the explosion to investigate an electrical issue. He said the workers were aware of reports of an odor of gas in the area when the explosion occurred.

Multiple homes were damaged and a damage assessment was being conducted, according to Alkire. He said no evacuations have been ordered.

Alkire confirmed the house that exploded was for sale, but it was unclear if anyone was inside the house when it exploded. Officials described the house as being a “total loss.”

The cause of the explosion is under investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Harford County Sheriff’s Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Residents in the neighborhood reported hearing the loud explosion and feeling their houses shake, authorities said.

Jefferey Beyers, who lives near the home that was destroyed by the blast, told ABC News that he and his wife were awakened by a “deafening explosion coupled with the kind of feeling of an earthquake.” Beyers pointed out windows in his house that he said were blown out from the frames.

“I think it’s important to get to the bottom of it, like understand what happened so that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” Beyers said.

Another neighbor, Marshall Garrett, who also lives nearby, told ABC News that he immediately rushed to the scene, beating the fire engines there. He described the scene as complete devastation and said it looked like something out of a movie.

“At first, we saw, we just saw the rubble,” Garrett said. “And then we started to see the flames streak out, and the smoke goes in the air.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.