A Virginia firefighter was killed and others were injured after a house exploded Friday evening, officials said.
Loudoun County Fire and Rescue responded to the home in Sterling around 7:40 p.m. for an investigation, and firefighters were inside when the home exploded, Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief of Operations James Williams said.
“Total devastation,” is how Williams described the scene and damage. “There’s a debris field well into the street and into the neighboring homes.”
The injuries to nine firefighters range from serious to less severe, Williams said.
The identity of the firefighter who was killed was not immediately released. Next of kin was being notified Friday night, Williams said.
Williams was asked about neighbors smelling gas but did not confirm if firefighters were there to investigate a gas leak.
The volunteer fire department in Sterling on X had posted that personnel were responding to a gas leak on that road around the time of the explosion.
He said that the fire is under investigation by the Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office, supported by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The fire is expected to continue to smolder and was still an active scene, Williams said Friday night.
“When I addressed the group of firefighters, I said that this is the worst call that we can respond to,” Williams said. “And this is a time where we need to support each other and hold each other up.”
Utility Washington Gas said it was at the scene and assisting in the investigation.
“We’re checking our system’s integrity in the vicinity. Our thoughts are with the injured and Loudoun County Fire Department for their loss,” the company said in a statement on X.
Sterling is a community of around 30,000 in Loudoun County, west of Washington, D.C.