(UnitedReader.com) – On the night of April 12, explosions erupted through the Oregon city of Medford. Soon firefighters and authorities were on the scene of a massive fire at a fuel depot. As emergency workers fought to contain the blaze, authorities asked residents to evacuate the area as reports of a possible chemical leak circulated.
BREAKING: A massive explosion just took place pic.twitter.com/EmushTixa0
— MedfordAlert.com (@MedfordALERT) April 13, 2022
Fire crews arrived at the scene just before 10 p.m. and battled the blaze well into the morning. The Medford Fire Department (MFD) posted an update on Facebook about the incident after police secured the area. The New York Post shared unconfirmed reports that five buildings were destroyed as a result of the inferno. Firefighters added in their Facebook post that they were “working to contain the runoff from the fuel silos.”
According to a tweet from Medford Alert, police used loudspeakers to ask residents to leave the area, adding they were at risk due to the possible release of chemicals in the air. The tweet also added that police were treating the area as an active crime scene.
Police are continuing to use loudspeakers to announce that there may be chemicals in the air from this fire. They also are treating this as an active crime scene
— MedfordAlert.com (@MedfordALERT) April 13, 2022
The local electric company, Pacific Power, later shut off the supplies to the area as a safety measure as firefighters continued to battle the blaze. They added in their tweet that they estimated they would re-energize the power lines by 3 p.m., noting they would continue to provide updates as the situation unfolded.
For safety purposes, we have de-energized service in the S Central/Boyd St, Medford area, due to a 3-alarm gas station fire. Currently the estimated time of restoration is 3pm. We will update as more information becomes available.
— Pacific Power OR (@PacificPower_OR) April 13, 2022
NewsWatch 12 reported there were no injuries and that emergency personnel rescued one woman. As of now, authorities don’t have an exact cause for the fire, but the Medford Police Department is working with the MFD to investigate the inferno.
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