FL - Gas Explosion at Shopping Center, Plantation, 6 July 2019

[Gardener1850]

At least 20 people are injured in a gas explosion at a Florida shopping center
Sat July 6, 2019

(CNN)At least 20 people were hospitalized Saturday, including two in critical condition, after a gas explosion shattered parts of a shopping mall in the South Florida city of Plantation, authorities said.

Firefighters were searching for other injured people but believe all have been taken for treatment, said Plantation Fire Department deputy chief Joel Gordon.
Explosion at shopping center
News footage and social media video showed firefighters arriving at the mall. Windows were blown out of an LA Fitness. A section of the complex appeared to sustain significant damage, with shattered windows and scattered debris.

Scene of gas explosion at Plantation mall.
Plantation police tweeted: "All stores and businesses in the area of the Fountains Plaza and the Plantation Marketplace plaza near LA Fitness will be shut down until further notice until Fire Personnel can determine that it is safe to return. Please do not come into this area if possible."
Update: All stores and businesses in the area of the Fountains Plaza and the Plantation Marketplace plaza near LA Fitness will be shut down until futher notice until Fire Personnel can determine that it is safe to return. Please do not come into this area if possible.

— Plantation Police (@PlantationPD) July 6, 2019
It's unclear if the mall was open at the time of the explosion.
In one social media video posted after the blast, people are seen surveying the aftermath, which included damage to cars and water cascading from an upper floor of a building.
"The whole building blew up," one man is heard saying.

20 hurt in gas explosion at Florida shopping center - CNN

 

[Gardener1850]

A gas explosion at a Broward County shopping center blasted through a section of the plaza on Saturday afternoon near an LA Fitness, injuring several people and leading to a search-and-rescue mission for other who might be trapped.

The blast happened near the LA Fitness at the Fountains , 1041 S University Dr. in Plantation. The possible ground zero was a vacant pizza restaurant undergoing renovation, according to authorities on the scene.

“As bad as it is, it could have been a lot worse,” according to Plantation Fire Deputy Chief Joel Gordon.

Ruptured gas lines were found amid the rubble, he said at the scene.


Read more here: Gas explosion near LA Fitness rocks South Florida mall, injuring at least 15 to 20 people

 

[Gardener1850]

The AP reports that the force from the explosion shot large pieces of concrete as far as 50 yards and sent pieces of metal as far as 100 yards across the street, damaging cars parked at other businesses.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that witnesses said the explosion seemed to come from a vacant restaurant in the complex.

Evan Hoffman, 47, told the paper he was working out at the complex's LA Fitness with his wife when the explosion went off.

"A huge, huge bang, thump, almost, explosion," he said. "It started shaking back and forth and the roof tiles started crashing down and the power went out."

Police and fire departments from nearby towns including Plantation, Davie, Lauderhill, Coral Springs, joined authorities from Broward County Sheriff Fire Rescue at the scene, local outlets reported.

At least 20 people are injured after a major explosion wiped out a large chunk of a Florida mall

 

[Gardener1850]

Live video feed here: At least 20 injured after gas explosion reported in Plantation

 

[Gardener1850]

Video and photos posted on social media showed a destroyed business with damaged buildings next to it. Police officer Chavez Grant said there were no known fatalities.

The Plantation fire and police departments said on Twitter that the street was closed to traffic. The fire department called it a gas explosion with "multiple patients."
Gas explosion rocks mall in Plantation, Florida

 

[Gardener1850]

Joel Gordon, deputy chief of the Plantation Fire Department, said approximately 20 people have been treated for injuries, two of whom were hurt seriously. At least one of them is facing life-treating injuries, he said. He didn't know how many were taken to the hospital. No fatalities have been reported.

"We believe we have accounted for everybody at this point," he said. "We're still searching the collapsed area for anybody else."

He added: "This is still active. It's still going."

Gordon stressed the explosion appears to be a gas explosion but that it hasn't been confirmed.

Gordon said several stores, including LA Fitness, were severely damaged.

Video and photos posted on social media showed a destroyed business with damaged buildings next to it.

The Plantation fire and police departments said on Twitter that the street was closed to traffic.

Florida mall explosion injures roughly 20; Plantation authorities investigating

 

[Gardener1850]

Map of the location: Google Maps

 

[dyannaON]

Thank you Gardener!!!

 

[dotr]

Turn down audio, beeping of alarms, imo.

 

[Gardenista]

There was just a huge gas explosion yesterday at a univ in Reno. Strange.

 

[Skittles]

There was just a huge gas explosion yesterday at a univ in Reno. Strange.

I was just saying to my husband it's been a week of explosions.. First was the home in Charlotte, NC that was completely demolished, then the dorms damaged in Reno, the homes that caught fire in the earthquakes from gas lines, and now this.

 

[Gardenista]

I was just saying to my husband it's been a week of explosions.. First was the home in Charlotte, NC that was completely demolished, then the dorms damaged in Reno, the homes that caught fire in the earthquakes from gas lines, and now this.

Good catch--I forgot about the CLT explosion. If we have another one, I think there is something hinky going on here.