An investigation and autopsy proceedings are underway after 13 people were injured and one was killed in a home explosion on Silver Ridge Drive in Sterling Friday night.
Loudoun County Fire & Rescue (LCFR) said a 911 call came in about 7:38 p.m. reporting an odor of gas outside a residence.
Rescue units found a 500-gallon underground propane tank with a leak on the side of the residence, said LCFR. They requested the Loudoun County’s Hazardous Materials Response Team as well as additional units from Sterling, South Riding, numerous command staff and safety officers report to the scene.
According to LCFR, “a short time later, units on scene reported a catastrophic explosion concurrent with multiple maydays from firefighters inside the residence.”
At that point, a Rapid Intervention Task Force and a second alarm were requested, bringing additional units from Fairfax County and the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, LCFR explained.
With numerous maydays and calls for help on their hands, crews worked trying to locate and rescue trapped first responders from debris that was covering them, LCFR noted.
Trevor Brown, a 45-year-old member of the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Eleven other first responders also received medical attention with four still hospitalized as of late morning on Saturday. Two civilians whose injuries were deemed non-life threatening were also transported for treatment, according to LCFR.
As of this morning, LCFR’s Fire Marshal’s Office was on scene investigating the origin and cause of the explosion.
Brown’s body has been transported to the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the cause and manner of his death, LCFR stated.
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