Fire officials on Thursday had initially said five to seven people were unaccounted for.
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The county’s acting fire chief, David Steckel, said that the recovery process has been slow because of how badly the building was damaged. Those victims still have not been identified.
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– Authorities have released 911 calls from anxious residents about a fire that killed at least two people, injured more than 30 others and left several unaccounted for at an apartment building in Silver Spring. It all started late Wednesday night and continued into the overnight hours on Thursday.
Hamill said that investigators have accounted for about 110 people residing in the building, and he said they are still asking family and friends to contact them “until we can account for everyone who is in the building”. Officials say the building is a collapse hazard and they are trying to make the structure safe.
Search and recovery efforts will continue on Saturday, according to police. Two people died and several others were unaccounted for in the explosion and three-alarm fire. Hamill said that the condition of the bodies made it impossible to determine their age or sex. Two people were killed and dozens of others were sent to the hospital, including three firefighters.
A third body was found in the wreckage of an Maryland apartment building Friday, and police warned that the death toll could rise in the explosion and fire that devastated two buildings late Wednesday.
The joint investigation between the MCPD, the Department of Fire and Rescue Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is ongoing and the possible cause/causes of this fire are still under investigation. Firefighters used ladders to rescue people from upper floors, and residents tossed children from balconies to safety below.
About 150 firefighters worked on containing the fire that erupted after an explosion at the four-story Flower Branch apartment complex.
County officials were trying to help anxious family members account for missing loved ones. When asked about reports of the smell of gas in the area before the explosion, officials said they are at the preliminary stages of investigation. Police did not release the identities of the dead.
“I’m blessed I have a home and I know a lot of people who don’t so it’s important we give back to the community that in essence have given back to us along the years”, said Buffaloe.
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Witnesses described the explosion like a bomb going off, and people more than a mile away reported their homes shaking.
