Fire department drone monitors scene of gas explosion in Baltimore

A fire department drone monitors the scene of a major gas explosion in the Reisterstown Station neighborhood in Northwest Baltimore that killed one woman and injured seven others.

Fire department drone monitors scene of gas explosion in Baltimore

Three two-story rowhomes in the Reisterstown Station neighborhood in Northwest Baltimore were completely destroyed on Monday morning around 10 am. The Baltimore Sun reports that the exact cause of the explosion is under investigation, fire officials said. It is believed to be a gas explosion.

Neighbors were the first people to get to the scene and search for survivors. During the following two hours and with the help of more than 200 emergency responders at least one man and woman were pulled from the debris. Witnesses said that they had heard children calling for help after the explosion.

In a tweet, the Maryland State Fire Marshal said:

“@MarylandOSFM is assisting @ChiefNilesRFord and the member of the BCFD (Baltimore City Fire Department) by deploying our aerial drone. Our Bomb Squad is on the scene and utilizing the drone in an effort to observe an overall view of the scene. Members of our Major Incident Response Team (MIRT) are en route,” the state fire marshal further tweeted.

A call from the fire department was received around 9:54 am by the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. asking crews to respond to the scene. According to the records of the utility company the gas infrastructure was installed in the early 1960s, that no gas odors were reported before the explosion and that BGE did not receive any recent gas odor calls from the block of homes that were damaged. BGE’s most recent inspection of the gas mains and services in the area occurred in June and July of 2019 and did not identify any leaks, the news release said.

As we have seen in many news stories, drones can play critical roles in monitoring emergency scenes or helping to find missing people.

UPDATE – @MarylandOSFM is assisting @ChiefNilesRFord & the member of the BCFD by deploying our aerial drone. Our Bomb Squad is on scene and utilizing the drone in an effort to observe an overall view of the scene. Members of our Major Incident Response Team (MIRT) are enroute. pic.twitter.com/fMS4kblBYp

— Maryland State Fire Marshal (@MarylandOSFM) August 10, 2020

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Photo credit: Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun