HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Fire Department has released video of the explosion in downtown Hutchinson on Saturday. The video shows the close call for the owner and six firefighters who had just found high gas levels in the building. It comes as the National Transportation Safety Board is in Hutchinson to investigate the blast.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Reno County dispatchers sent the Hutchinson Fire Department to check a gas odor near Main and Avenue E. The first firefighters on the scene could smell a strong natural gas odor outside Steffens Auto Parts. They upgraded the department’s response to a commercial gas leak.
The firefighters who went into the store said they got high-level gas readings. They evacuated the owner, who was still in the building.
About 20 seconds later, the store exploded. A battalion chief’s dash cam recorded it.
No one was injured.