Maryland house explosion killed two people, caused ‘millions’ in damage: Authorities

(BEL AIR, Md.) — Two people were found dead and another was injured after an explosion Sunday morning leveled a home and damaged multiple neighboring residences in a suburban Baltimore neighborhood, authorities said.

The blast was reported around 6:42 a.m. ET on Arthurs Woods Drive in Harford County, in the town of Bel Air, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore, according to officials.

The two people killed in the explosion were identified Monday afternoon by the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office as 35-year-old Jose Rodriguez-Alvarado, a contractor for Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), and 73-year-old Ray Corkran Jr., the owner of the house that was destroyed.

Rodriguez-Alvarado was found in the widespread blast debris field and pronounced dead soon after firefighters arrived on the scene Sunday morning, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Search-and-rescue crews located Corkran’s body Sunday afternoon. It was buried under the rubble of his home, according to the fire marshal’s office.

“With the assistance of heavy machinery, investigators located the victim within the debris,” the fire marshal’s office said of Corkran.

Investigators said Corkran was the only person inside the house at the time of the explosion.

A female neighbor living adjacent to the home was also injured and treated at the scene, said Master Deputy Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire.

At least 12 families have been displaced by the blast, according to officials, who noted the total number of damaged structures is still being counted.

“While they continue to collect information on exact damages, the cost is expected to be in the millions,” according to the sheriff’s office.

A photo posted on X by Harford County Fire and Emergency Medical Services showed firefighters battling a small fire and searching the remains of the home, which was reduced to splintered pieces of wood, insulation and other debris.

“I’ve been on the job for 18 years and this was one of the largest explosions I’ve seen,” Alkire said during a news conference.

Alkire said firefighters from the Harford County Fire Department were responding to a report of a gas leak in the area when the explosion occurred.

Alkire said at least two BGE contract workers had responded to the area before the explosion to investigate an electrical issue. He said the workers were aware of reports of an odor of gas in the area when the explosion occurred.

Alkire confirmed that the house was for sale. Officials described the house as being a “total loss.”

The cause of the explosion remained under investigation Monday by the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Harford County Sheriff’s Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. There is no evidence of criminal activity involved in the explosion and investigators are focusing on accidental causes, according to the Fire Marshal’s Office.

“Investigators will now focus on reviewing the evidence and data they collected yesterday. This includes physical items such as gas and electrical piping, interviews, video surveillance, and data from BGE,” the state fire marshal said in a statement Monday morning.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates pipeline accidents that occur during the transport of natural gas or other hazardous liquids, announced Monday that it had also launched an investigation into the house explosion. An NTSB team has arrived in Bel Air and plans to spend a week “documenting the scene and conducting an initial visual examination of the pipeline and equipment involved,” the agency said in a statement.

“NTSB investigations involve three primary areas: human factors, the pipeline system, and the operating environment,” the board said.

Residents in the neighborhood reported hearing the loud explosion and feeling their houses shake, authorities said.

Jefferey Beyers, who lives near the home that was destroyed by the blast, told ABC News that he and his wife were awakened by a “deafening explosion coupled with the kind of feeling of an earthquake.” Beyers pointed out windows in his house that he said were blown out from the frames.

“I think it’s important to get to the bottom of it, like understand what happened so that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” Beyers said.

Another neighbor, Marshall Garrett, told ABC News that he immediately rushed to the scene, beating the fire engines there. He described the scene as complete devastation and said it looked like something out of a movie.

“At first, we just saw the rubble,” Garrett said. “And then we started to see the flames streak out and the smoke goes in the air.”

ABC News’ Davone Morales, Perry Russom and Tia Humphries contributed to this report.
 

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