Loudoun County Fire and Rescue’s Fire Marshal’s Office said preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation into the origin and cause of the blast indicate it was the result of a leak in a 500-gallon underground propane tank, which was set off by an unknown ignition source.
A home explosion Friday night in Sterling, Virginia, killed a volunteer firefighter and injured 10 others. (Courtesy Loudoun Fire Rescue)
A home explosion Friday night in Sterling, Virginia, killed a volunteer firefighter and injured 10 others. (Courtesy Loudoun Fire Rescue)
Authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, have released more details about a massive house explosion and fire in Sterling last week that killed one volunteer firefighter and injured more than a dozen other people.
In a news release Friday, the Loudoun County Fire and Rescue’s Fire Marshal’s Office said preliminary findings from the ongoing investigation into the origin and cause of the blast indicate it was the result of a leak in a 500-gallon underground propane tank, which was set off by an unknown ignition source.
Authorities said Friday they have wrapped up the on-site investigation in the charred ruins of the home on Silver Ridge Drive in Sterling. However, calling it “an extremely complex” investigation, the fire marshal said the incident will remain under investigation until further notice.
Volunteer firefighter Trevor Brown was killed in the blast. He had responded to the home, along with several other firefighters, for the report of a gas leak around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16.
The home exploded while Brown and other firefighters were inside.
Brown, 45, a father of three, had been with the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company since 2016.
All told, 14 other people were hurt, including 11 firefighters. One firefighter remains hospitalized, in stable condition, at MedStar Washington Hospital Center’s Burn Center, according to an update from the county Friday.
The fire department said initial property damage is estimated at $2.5 million. In addition to the home that was destroyed, the blast caused damage to six additional residential structures. Three of those homes have been deemed unsafe to live in.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
One of the firefighters who was injured in the home explosion that killed a volunteer firefighter in Sterling, Virginia, has been released from the hospital.
A home explosion Friday night in Sterling, Virginia, killed a volunteer firefighter and injured 10 others. (Courtesy Loudoun Fire Rescue)
A home explosion Friday night in Sterling, Virginia, killed a volunteer firefighter and injured 10 others. (Courtesy Loudoun Fire Rescue)
Police tape remained around where a house once stood in the residential neighborhood on Silver Ridge Drive Monday morning.
The fire department and fire marshal, in addition to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, continue to investigate the cause of the explosion.
Two people who lived in the home, as well as some pets, were evacuated before the explosion, according to Loudoun Fire.
Trevor Brown, 45, of the Sterling Volunteer Fire Department was killed in the explosion. He had been affiliated with the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System since 2016.
On its Facebook page, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue posted a link to the Loudoun First Responders Foundation for donations for the firefighters: “To designate your donation specifically to the family of Firefighter Trevor Brown, please add ‘Brown Family’ in memo line, if not specified, your donations will benefit injured firefighters.”
Funeral plans for Brown are being finalized by the Sterling fire department, Loudoun officials said on Sunday.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
A chimney is the only part left standing of a house on Silver Ridge Drive in Sterling, Virginia, where a home explosion killed a volunteer firefighter.
Debris is scattered across Silver Ridge Drive neighborhood after a house exploded Friday night, killing a firefighter and injuring 10 others.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Much like the debris, the impact of the blast itself reached neighbors.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Insulation from the house that exploded made its way to other neighbors’ yards.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
The two occupants of the house were treated for minor injuries and have been released.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
On Saturday morning, scraps of insulation and wood framing were still strewn about the block.
Much like the debris, the impact of the blast itself reached neighbors. Chris Voloshin, who lives six houses down the street from the home that exploded, said “it felt like the house was falling down on” him and his family.
“We walked around the corner and we saw the house all in flames,” he told WTOP, adding that the insulation made its way to his yard. “Couldn’t believe that that’s what we heard and that’s what we felt.”
Ron Milligan lives about three-quarters of a mile from the house that exploded, but said the blast woke him up.
“I bolted upright, not sure what to do,” he said.
Another neighbor, Susan Sheridan, was in the kitchen when the blast happened. She said the ground shook like there was an earthquake, but “the noise was what was really astonishing.”
“I’ve never heard a bomb, but I imagine that’s what they sound like,” she said.
A leaking propane tank
Firefighters first got to the scene around 7:40 p.m. Friday, after receiving calls about a gas leak that could be smelled across the neighborhood, Fire Systems Chief Keith Johnson said at a news conference Saturday morning.
Sheridan said she never smelled the gas leak. However, she said she knew the community member who called the fire department about the gas odor, and noted that crews were checking the neighborhood for “an hour or more” before isolating the origin.
The fire department’s investigation is ongoing, but Johnson said he believes the explosion was related to a 500-gallon underground propane tank that crews found leaking into the home.
The explosion happened around 8:25 p.m., Johnson said.
“Luckily, the two occupants of the home were removed by firefighters upon our arrival, as well as some of the pets,” Johnson said. “We can credit our firefighters for the removal of those citizens.”
Johnson said it was “somewhat chaotic” as the department tried to track down all the injured firefighters, figuring out how many were trapped under debris. All units were accounted for and receiving medical care by around 9:15 p.m.
‘The devastation is not just the house’
(Courtesy, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue)
The explosion claimed the life of 45-year-old Trevor Brown, who had been with the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company since 2016. He leaves behind a wife and three children, Johnson said.
A total of 10 other first responders were taken to local hospitals, including two Loudoun County career firefighters, seven Sterling volunteer firefighters and one Fairfax County firefighter. The two occupants of the house were treated for minor injuries and have been released.
“I just feel horrible for the people that own this and I feel horrible for the fireman that lost his life trying to find out what the problem was,” Milligan said. “I mean, the devastation is not just the house.”
Brown’s death is a heartbreaking loss, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall told WTOP.
“It’s devastating to the (volunteer fire) company, to the entire system and quite frankly to the entire county, but most importantly to his family, his wife and his children,” Randall said.
Funeral arrangements are in the hands of the Brown family.
Randall said the community has come together to offer support to the four firefighters who remain hospitalized.
“Right now we are told that they have a long road back and it will be very hard, so they need a lot of support from everyone in the county,” Randall said.
“The homeowner is also a victim. This happened not because of her, but to her, and she has completely lost her home, pets and all of her worldly possessions,” Randall added.
STERLING, Va. — A house explosion in Sterling, Virginia killed 1 firefighter and injured 11 more people, a mix of firefighters and civilians, Friday evening, Loudoun County County fire officials said.
Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief of Operations James Williams said that firefighters responded to a home on Silver Ridge Place in Sterling on Friday evening. After their arrival, while they were conducting an investigation, the house exploded with firefighters inside.
A house explosion in Loudon County at a home in Sterling, Va. killed 1 firefighter and injured 9 more plus 2 civilians Friday evening.
One of those firefighters was killed, and nine more were injured, Williams said. Some of the firefighters sustained serious injuries. Two civilians were also injured.
The Sterling Volunteer Fire Company tweeted that firefighters had been dispatched to that home for a reported gas leak, but Williams would not confirm that information, saying the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
The debris field is large, stretching into the street and into the vicinity of neighboring homes. The house that exploded is completely destroyed and the fire from the explosion continues to smolder, according to the assistant chief.
“This is the worst call that we can respond to,” Williams said.
The ATF and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office are assisting in the investigation, Williams said.
