ATLANTA — Neighbors described what they felt when an apartment building exploded near Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It was just a loud boom, and the building shook,” neighbor Brittany Hamner told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington. “So, I’m like it had to be something significant enough to shake a whole building. I thought maybe a car had crashed.”
The scene Wednesday showed glass and debris spread in every direction around the building at Northside Plaza Apartments. A door was blown feet away and left twisted and torn.
NewsChopper2 captured images of the large hole left in the roof.
Atlanta Fire Department investigators are looking into the cause of the blast at the apartment at 445 Markham Street just after 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The apartment building was vacant and under renovation. One person suffered serious burns to their back and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.
“It is fortunate that it was vacant, under renovation. So we’re lucky in that sense, we only have the one victim,” Battalion Chief Michael Roman with Atlanta Fire Rescue said.
Other buildings in the area also sustained damage from the explosion. Deandrea Moore said it blew the windows out of her apartment.
Moore said she and her five kids were asleep when the explosion happened. She said she hurried to get her family to safety.
“I got my kids. They don’t have shoes on, they don’t have coats on. I grabbed them one by one and put them in the car, and took them inside the gas station (across the street),” Moore said.
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The Atlanta Fire Department asked people to stay away from the area near Northside Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW.
Moore said she could smell gas earlier in the day and called the police. She said they investigated and said she could go back home.
“I asked again cause I have five children, and I did not want them to get out of school and go through any type of dangers, hazards, anything. Fast forward, here we are,” Moore said.
As of early Wednesday morning, Moore said she didn’t know what condition her apartment was in.
“Grabbing my kids is all I worried about,” Moore said.
She said she knows the man who was injured and said he had serious injuries. Firefighters said at last check, the man was stable at Grady.
Atlanta Fire Rescue said 40 people who live near the building have been displaced. Atlanta Gas Light released the following statement:
“Atlanta Gas Light’s top value is the safety of our customers and the communities we serve. The company has representatives onsite assisting the Atlanta Fire Department with its investigation.”
The American Red Cross of Georgia said it responded to provide assistance to people affected.
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