By Ed Richter
The Dayton Daily News
LEBANON, Ohio — Several people suffered burns and at least two people were thought to have been thrown several feet Tuesday night when an apartment building exploded and burned.
Residents said flames shot 50 feet into the air at the Steeplechase Apartments, 800 Franklin Road/Ohio 123, after they heard something explode in one of the units, shortly before 9 p.m.
Fire officials were not immediately available to give an initial assessment of what happened.
Several people were burned, including at least one person who appeared to have suffered major burns.
Helicopters transported several people, including one with severe burns on their hands and feet, and a second victim with a “compromised airway.”
Residents think everyone in the buildings escaped. The building manager was taking a tally of residents in the crowd.
Neighbors said it sounded like a bomb going off. Others said they felt the blast two blocks away.
Ron Wright, who lives a block and a half away, said he felt the explosion and rushed to the scene. He found a woman and a 13-year-old girl who were thrown out of the building from the explosion.
“The impact was massive,” said Wright, a former volunteer firefighter in Beavercreek.
The explosion appeared to have blown out both sides of the two-story building, which houses 10 apartments. The building appeared to be nearly gutted by the flames, which could be seen from Monroe.
Pieces of the building were on Ohio 123, about 30 feet away.
One woman told Wright she was in her apartment, lighting a cigarette, and the next thing she knew, she was on the parking lot in front of the building.
Amber Lewis, who lived next to the apartment thought to be the fire’s source, said the wall exploded and the ceiling collapsed after the blast.
The Miami University Middletown student escaped with her 10-year-old son.
“All I have is the clothes on my back,” Lewis said. Several residents gave her son a blanket and a sweatshirt. Lewis said an inspector checked her smoke alarm earlier in the day. Two ladder trucks were spraying water, particularly on the upper floors. Two nearby apartment buildings were damaged by the flames.
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