Columbus Fire crews were battling massive flames from an open gas line that ignited along West Broad Street, causing an explosion.
The blast leveled the Domino’s restaurant in the area, but everyone made it out safe.
Columbia Gas worked to find an underground valve to shut off the gas. Gas was spilling out, adding to the fire.
Columbus Fire says the gas line has since been shut off.
The explosion, which witnesses say sounded like a ‘sonic boom’ happened in the 2800 block of West Broad Street, near a Walgreens and a Post Office.
The area surrounding the fire was evacuated and West Broad Street between Hague Avenue and North Roys was closed.
Officials say the fire was unstable and crews worked to keep everyone in the surrounding area safe.
Columbus Police say residents previously impacted by the evacuations can now return home.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital has a “Close to Home” location next to the Domino’s. The hospital told 10TV all the patients and staff got out safely without injury.
Witness Teela Fields lives behind what used to be a Domino’s Pizza.
“There was a fella picking himself up off the ground we helped him he had some blacktop stuck to his face. While we were seeing if everyone’s alright it exploded again,” she said.
AEP said there were more than 550 customers without power in the area during the incident. Power was restored around 7:30 p.m. AEP released a statement reading, “Power has been restored to all remaining customers. We greatly appreciated your patience.
Team Fishel, a company specializing in utility engineering, construction and network installation services, according to its website released a statement about the incident Wednesday night.
“While performing work at 2857 W. Broad Street in Columbus earlier this afternoon, a Team Fishel crew struck a gas line. The incident resulted in an explosion which impacted a number of local business and residents in the area. Our Teammates responded appropriately and aided in a swift evacuation of the area. We are thankful that there were no serious injuries reported. Our focus right now is on the safety of everyone impacted by this unfortunate incident. Team Fishel is on site working in collaboration with authorities to determine the cause of the incident,”
The statement was released by the director of safety and human resources at Team Fishel, Craig Mathes.
Columbia Gas released the following statement:
Columbia Gas of Ohio crews are on site of the working fire at 2857 W. Broad Street in Columbus. At this time our crews are working with the City of Columbus Fire Department to evacuate and shut off gas service. Our focus is the safety of the community, our crews and fire officials. Once the area is made safe, the investigation into the cause and circumstances of the incident will begin.
Columbia Gas told 10TV the company has reached out to 10 residential customers to offer accommodations because the customers’ gas is still not on as of 9:15 p.m. Wednesday.
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