Washington DC narrowly escaped a major disaster as an explosion occurred approximately 15 minutes after the evacuation of a building and an adjacent nursery where a gas leak was detected. Firefighters evacuated the Anacostia district building and the nursery with 16 children around 10:00 local time. Two explosions followed the evacuation, causing a fire that produced visible smoke from kilometers away.
The Washington Fire Department reported one person slightly injured by debris, while the evacuated children remained unharmed. The market building was destroyed, and two neighboring structures suffered damage. Firefighters brought the blaze under control hours later.