Investigation Begins after Maryland Warehouse Explosion

July 15, 2008
Explosions and fireballs were visible for miles.

WOODLAWN, Md. --

The general manager of a concrete business that exploded into flames Friday night took WBAL TV 11 News reporter Mindy Mizell on an exclusive tour of the fire scene Monday, saying it was amazing nobody got hurt.

The fire broke out at Concrete Protection and Restoration in the Meadows Industrial Park in the 6700 block of Whitestone Road just inside the Beltway north of Security Boulevard late Friday night.

Sky Team 11 was over the scene as crews fought the fire, and several explosions and fireballs were visible for miles across the Beltway.

Firefighters said Monday that they're waiting on demolition crews to come in so that none of the building collapses on investigators.

"Propane tanks were sitting in caged storage and flew throughout the yard," said General Manager Brian Greenbaum during a walkthrough of the site. "Probably with the building's contents, we're looking at at least $2 million in damage."

Firefighters said the bulk of the damage happened when 20 propane tanks started to explode.

"It was a large ball of flame, like a mushroom cloud. I actually felt the ground shake," recalled volunteer firefighter Butch Morgenstern.

Firefighter Loqune Brown said he witnessed concrete rocks fall from the sky.

"It was like something you'd see out of a movie," he said.

Greenbaum said he's happy no one was injured.

"We're very pleased that all we lost was a building and our materials and something we can recover from," he said.

Two firefighters were treated for dehydration, but neither was seriously injured, officials said.

Investigators hope to pinpoint an exact cause within the week.

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