4 people seriously hurt, homes evacuated after Chandler explosion | Arizona News
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Firefighters still aren’t sure what caused an explosion at a Chandler business.
CHANDLER, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Four people have been rushed to the hospital after an explosion and fire in Chandler on Thursday morning. Fire crews say investigators are checking for a possible gas leak in a parking lot next to the building but haven’t said what the cause was.
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Victims of Chandler explosion ‘lucky to be alive,’ doctors say
According to the Chandler Fire Department, the explosion happened near Ray and Rural roads shortly after 9:30 a.m. The Arizona Burn Center says all four hurt are young men, with burns across their bodies ranging from 16% to 30%. They suffered propane flash burn injuries to their arms, hands, thighs and legs. Two are in the ICU in critical condition but are expected to survive, while the other two have serious injuries. Police said two of the victims were workers at print shop, one was a customer and the last victim was from a nearby business.
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Video from Arizona’s Family Chopper showed the building that exploded was Platinum Printing. All buildings on the northeast corner of Ray and Rural roads were evacuated, including children from the Maxwell Preschool Academy. No children were hut. About 15 businesses were evacuated.
The building is located just west of the Chandler Sunset Library where many viewers called our newsroom to report the shaking and damage seen in the area. Due to the active investigation, 20 to 30 homes on the north side of the building were evacuated, but people have since been allowed to return to their homes.
“I heard a big bang and the house was shaking,” said Ron Wright, who felt the explosion from his home just north of the print shop. “I was talking to someone on the phone and told him, ‘Holy crap! A bomb just went off.’”
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Video shows the location where the explosion happened in Chandler
Keith Welch with Chandler fire said the building where the explosion happened is destroyed. There was damage to several suites and movement of the walls. Fire crews used a drone to look at structure stability.
“When I first heard it, I thought like a truck had crashed into my house. Everything was shaking and it was like a couple seconds of loud noise,” said Gary Logvin, who also lives nearby and was evacuated from his home for a few hours after the explosion. “There was all kinds of like papers and stuff way up high in the sky kind of drifting down and just a little stream of smoke.”
According to the Chandler Fire Department, the explosion happened near Ray and Rural roads shortly after 9:30 a.m.
In addition to Chandler fire crews, seven other jurisdictions are helping with the incident. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. Police said they’re not looking for a suspect.
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