SACRAMENTO - At 12:06 a.m. the Sacramento Fire Department responded to multiple 911 reports of a large explosion with fire at 1550 Arcade Blvd. Engine Company 17 arrived to a two story, four-unit apartment building that had bowed walls and blown out windows. An immediate search was completed on all four apartment units. Four adults were evacuated, one of which had moderate injuries from the large blast and was transported to a local area hospital.
The female who occupied a downstairs unit stated that her kitchen was under some renovation. Her stove was not connected to the gas plumbing that came out of the wall in her kitchen she stated that she may have inadvertently hit the shut-off valve causing her apartment to fill with gas. At the time of the explosion, she was laying on the couch in her living room which is adjacent to the kitchen area.
An Investigator from the Sacramento Fire Department has stated that the explosion was caused by natural gas reaching an ignition source which is believed to be a wall heater. Because of the extensive damage to several of the load bearing walls, the apartment is untenable and will be demolished. Damage to the structure and the loss of it
