Youngstown, Ohio, Building Explosion: What We Know

A massive explosion that local firefighters say was possibly caused by a gas leak has rattled a building in downtown Youngstown, Ohio.

Emergency crews arrived on the scene at the Chase Bank building, also known as Realty Towers, shortly after an explosion reportedly rocked the first floor of the building on Tuesday at around 2:30 p.m. local time.

Youngstown Fire Chief Barry Finley said that no fatalities had been reported at the time of publication and "everyone is accounted for," according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from Lindsay McCoy, an anchor for NBC affiliate WFMJ.

The Context

The Youngstown Professional Fire Fighters Local 312 first reported the explosion by posting the following message to Facebook shortly after 3 p.m.: "Please AVOID downtown Youngstown. Major explosion from possible natural gas leak with injuries."

An additional Facebook post from Youngstown Fire claimed that the incident was caused by an "underground gas explosion" and had resulted in "multiple victims trapped."

What We Know

CBS affiliate WKBN reported that witnesses in the area heard a loud boom and noticed the smell of gas at the time of the explosion. First responders reportedly pulled injured people from the area near the explosion on the first, as well as evacuating residents of apartments located on upper floors of the building.

It not clear how many injuries may have occurred as a result of the blast. WFMJ reported that gas had been shut off to the structure and residents of nearby apartment building had also been evacuated.

The Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency, which was managing the aftermath of the explosion, confirmed that the incident had been caused by a natural gas leak and urged locals to avoid the area in a post to Facebook.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Youngstown Police Department via email on Tuesday.

Views

WFMJ shared to X video of what it said was "dramatic security video of the explosion at the Chase Bank Building in downtown Youngstown." The video shows a large explosion on the building's first floor suddenly blowing debris across the street.

Local newspaper The Vindicator reported that office worker Jeff Magada, who was in a nearby building, saw smoke rise from the building following the explosion and later saw firefighters helping a trapped occupant leave the damaged structure.

What's Next

While firefighters say the cause of the explosion appears to be a gas leak, an investigation could determine further details. The status of any occupants who may have been injured in the explosion remained unknown at the time of publication.