LELAND, N.C. (WWAY) — Multiple homes sustained significant damage after an explosion in the Magnolia Greens neighborhood in Leland Friday night. It happened at a townhome in the 1300 block of Suncrest Way and was reported at 7:37 p.m. as a multi-residential explosion.
When firefighters arrived, they found extensive damage to four attached homes. Crews rescued a person from the home. Two people sustained injuries but refused to be transported to the hospital.
“Crews are actively assessing surrounding homes to determine the full extent of the impact,” said Town of Leland Communications Manager Jessica Jewell. “Garage doors across the street were blown in due to the force of the blast, and multiple homes have sustained varying degrees of damage.”
WWAY’s Jeff Rivenbark was at the scene and spoke with the mother of a man who lives next door to the home where the explosion occurred. She said her son was working in the back of his home when he heard a loud explosion. He safely evacuated from his home without injury.
The incident prompted a large-scale response, with personnel from Leland Fire/Rescue, Leland Police, SBI, ATF, and fire departments from Wilmington, New Hanover County, Pender County, Winnabow, Navassa, Supply, Bolivia, and Northwest.
“There was certainly a lot of people standing around and a lot of people trying to direct us to the scene and stuff like that and once we arrived, there were a lot of people up next to the structure involved so we had to do some evacuating and moving people away from the scene so we can safely operate,” Lancaster said.
Emergency responders were also seen going into the homes and coming back with residents’ medications. The American Red Cross has been called and will assist the residents who were displaced with temporary housing and emergency needs.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. No firefighters were injured during the incident.
Jewell also said no pets were hurt but a neighbor’s cat is reportedly missing after running away after the explosion.
Duke Energy responded to the scene to ensure power is on and safe for the other residents in the neighborhood.
Article courtesy of WWAY News
Author: staff report
About Author
