Watch: Explosion Rocks Tacoma, WA, Apartment Building as Crews Investigating
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
(TNS)
Update: Shepherd told The News Tribune the explosion happened after firefighters tried to get into the room.
“The explosion happened when firefighters entered the electrical room and manually shut the power off to the building,” Shepherd wrote in a message to The News Tribune. “We believe that the electricity arced and ignited the smoke already present in the room.”
The News Tribune asked Shepherd how many people were displaced as a result of the explosion. She directed The News Tribune to the American Red Cross but said each building had about 12 units.
The News Tribune reached out to the American Red Cross and did not receive a response.
Mike Halliday, spokesperson for Tacoma Public Utilities, told The News Tribune the utility is continuing to investigate the cause of the explosion.
“We’re still investigating, still trying to determine what happened out there,” Halliday said. “We’re looking at our equipment. We’re also working with the customer, the owners of the apartment building out there, and working with the contractor to come in and work on their equipment.”
Original story: Some residents have been displaced after an explosion at a Tacoma apartment complex on Sunday afternoon.
According to an X post from Tacoma Fire, crews got a call at about 5:37 p.m. from an apartment complex in the 6400 block of S 12th St.
“Electrical malfunction with a transformer pushed smoke into multiple buildings, triggering an automatic alarm. A resident then pulled the fire alarm to alert neighbors,” the post said. “20 minutes after TFD arrived on scene, the explosion occurred. We immediately began evacuating occupants.”
Eight buildings were evacuated, the post said, and residents took shelter at Hunt Middle School.
“Tacoma Public Utilities has cleared all units to be reoccupied EXCEPT for units in the 600 building,” Tacoma Fire wrote at 10:45 p.m., five hours after the call first came in. “Red Cross is assisting those displaced residents. All other residents will be permitted to return home while TPU works to restore power. Explosion under investigation.”
There were no injuries, the post said.
The News Tribune has reached out to Tacoma Fire for more information on how many residents were displaced.
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