Eight people were injured and taken to Portland hospitals this morning after a natural gas explosion in Northwest Portland.
The explosion leveled the building that housed the Portland Bagelworks business and sent a column of brown smoke billowing into the sky. Wooden beams, insulation, pieces of metal, and what appeared to be a stove lay strewn across 23rd Avenue.
Portland Fire and Rescue says crews were attending to a gas leak when the blast happened.
The agency says there were no fatalities. The injured include three firefighters, two police officers and three civilians. All have been taken to local hospitals. One firefighter has serious but not life threatening injuries.
Portland Fire Chief Mike Myers called it the worst devastation he’s seen in his long career as a firefighter. Myers singled out one man in particular for praise — a lieutenant with the fire department named Peter St. John.
“This man single handedly, I believe, saved the lives of a lot of citizens today. And a lot of firefighters,” Myers said.
St. John entered one of the buildings and pulled the fire alarm to make sure everyone evacuated before the explosion, Meyers said. And he positioned his fire engine in a safe place. Firefighters also decided to put on their air pack masks — a decision likely saved their lives, Meyer said.
People in the vicinity heard and felt the explosion at NW 23rd Avenue and Glisan Street.
Greg Johnson and Louise Sandow are in Portland on vacation, and were on their way to the bagel shop when the explosion happened.
“We walked out of our door and heard two loud explosions. We could see that the bagel shop, which was where we were going to, the front had completely collapsed in,” said Sandow.
"Trees shook. It was a pretty significant explosion,” said Johnson. "We were just a bit shocked, what the hell was that?”
Johnson said he saw one woman who appeared to have suffered a head injury from debris or shrapnel being taken to get medical care.
The gas explosion happened at NW 23rd Avenue and Glisan Street in Portland Wednesday morning.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
NW Natural said they had crews on site at 9:10 a.m. and worked with the fire department to evacuate the area when an ignition occurred.
"We first got a call that a contractor had nicked one of our lines at 8:55" said Melissa Moore, NW Natural spokeswoman. The address the contractor called in to the gas company was 510 NW 23rd Avenue.
Allyson Williams works at the Dosha salon, next door to the bagel shop.
“I showed up to work at 9 a.m. to start the day, and right away we smelled something funny,” she said.
Her manager called the gas company to report a leak, and then ordered everyone out of the building. Williams said a few minutes later, gas company employees showed up and told people to move further away.
“Within minutes we were evacuated, not too far from the building, and we watched it explode," she said. "Glass shattered, it went up in smoke immediately."
The noise was terrifying.
"You could almost feel the noise, how strong it was," she said. "It was a double boom boom."
Williams said the building blew up just minutes after she and others evacuated the area. “We are still really shaky,” she said. "Very thankful to god that we are all OK.”
The Portland Fire Bureau said the explosion happened at 9:39 a.m. Eight firefighters had responded to the call of a natural gas leak and were present at the time of the explosion.
"They were inside that building, looking for the gas leak," said Rich Chatman, a spokesman for Portland Fire and Rescue. Chatman said firefighters were using gas monitors that indicate whether or not gas is at an explosive limit, but the monitors did not trigger before the explosion.
More than 100 firefighters responded following the explosion. Damage to the building made it impossible for crews to enter to put out the fire, so they stood on the street and doused it from the outside.
NW Natural said the gas has been turned off in the area and about 115 customers are without natural gas.
Legacy Emanuel Medical Center has received four patients following the explosion.
Portland firefighters douse the site of a gas explosion in Northeast Portland, Oct. 19, 2016.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The fire had been upgraded to a 4th Alarm to bring additional resources.
Traffic delays are expected within three blocks of either side of the incident. The Fire Bureau is asking drivers to avoid the area so responders can get access to the site.