Eight firefighters and a gas company worker were hurt Thursday afternoon when a gas leak ignited at a Forestville strip mall, blowing out a cement wall and showering rescue crews with glass and debris.
Prince George’s County firefighters evacuated dozens of customers and employees from the string of businesses at the Penn Mar Shopping Center off Pennsylvania Avenue just minutes before the blast. No one was killed.
“It was like a powerful tornado struck this shopping mall,” fire spokesman Mark Brady said. “We are extremely lucky.”
Jeanette Zak, a counselor at the Forestville Pregnancy Center, said she stopped by the office around 1 p.m. when she smelled an “obnoxious” odor coming from the back of the offices. She called 911, and dispatchers told her to evacuate the building. When the fire crews arrived, they ordered Zak and the others to move their cars from the parking lot. Firefighters broke into the empty grocery store next to the pregnancy center and were waiting for Washington Gas personnel to shut off the leak when the storefront exploded.
“I could feel the heat and the wind from the explosion,” said Zak, who was watching from half a block away.
Five firefighters were taken to the Washington Hospital’s burn center, and three more and the gas company worker were transported to another hospital. Two firefighters were expected to remain hospitalized, and the rest were to be treated and released. None suffered life-threatening injuries, Brady said.
Six businesses were destroyed and part of the structure’s roof caved in, Brady said. Firefighters were examining the building Thursday afternoon to determine whether it was safe enough to sift through the debris and make sure there were no fatalities inside. It was unclear when the strip mall would reopen.
Authorities said the first call to report the strange smell before the blast came from the pregnancy center.
Zak said she has always been gifted with a sensitive nose.
“I just thanked God for putting me there,” Zak said, “and getting me out in time.”
