News4’s Ted Oberg spoke to residents at the building about what they heard and saw.
A woman was seriously hurt Friday morning in an apparent natural gas explosion at an apartment building in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of D.C., fire officials say.
Firefighters evacuated the four-story apartment building at 1433 Columbia Road Northwest and shut off the gas after finding the woman in serious condition, D.C. Fire and EMS said.
Neighbors said the woman came out of the building with burns on her arms and face and her clothes were singed. Medics took her to a hospital.
There were no other injuries, according to fire officials.
The explosion in the woman's kitchen blasted through her thrid-floor window, sending an air conditioning unit, shards of glass, blankets and other items on the ground below. Some residents said it sounded like a bomb went off.
Firefighters saw damage on the floor at the apartment, and a hazmat team was testing for any remaining gas in the building, the fire department said.
It's unclear at the moment how significantly the building was damaged. The fire department said a collapse task force would evaluate the building before it could allow any residents to come back inside.
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Metro buses were parked nearby on 15th Street so residents could have somewhere air conditioned to wait while the fire department worked in the building.
Stay with News4 for updates to this developing story.
