© Reuters
Along with the two people who were killed, several remain missing and at least 34 were injured in the incident shortly before midnight on Wednesday.
In the wake of the explosion in Silver Spring,Maryland, shocked locals have hit out at authorities for ignoring their calls about alleged 'gas leaks' near the building.
'I've been smelling gas for weeks. I called 911, they came and told us it smelled like incense,' Adrian Boya told NBC Washington. 'That's pretty sad. It's like they didn't take us seriously.'
Comment: Gas leaks reportedly have a rotten egg or skunk smell and is generally an unpleasant odor not easily confused with incense.
There were also reports residents alerted the company, Washington Gas, to a potential leak in July, however that could not be confirmed on Thursday.
Washington Gas spokesman Jim Monroe would not say whether the company had received calls about smells or leaks at the building before the explosion and fire.
'We are supporting the investigation,' Monroe told the Washington Post. 'Information will be shared publicly at the appropriate time.' Fire Chief Scott Goldstein also said there were no reports of gas smells before the blast.
Montgomery County Police Assistant Chief Russ Hamill announced the two deaths in a media conference on Thursday.
The explosion was also declared a 'mass casualty incident', and Assistant Chief Hamill added the building is still in an 'extremely dangerous condition'. Emergency services were called to the apartment complex after firefighters stationed about a mile away from the Flower Branch Apartments reportedly felt the explosion.
It is believed 28 units have been impacted and almost 100 people were forced to leave their homes after being woken up by the blast. Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said those inside the building desperately tried to escape the fire.
'People were dropping children and jumping out of other windows,' he said, according to the Washington Post. 'Everybody was getting out of the building as rapidly as possible.'
Chief Goldstein went on to say a K-9 team searching through the rubble had a 'hit' shortly before 6:30am, which could mean at least one person is trapped underneath the debris.
Locals said they heard a loud 'boom' and some felt their house shake during the explosion at the Flower Branch Apartments on Piney Branch Road.
A metal apartment door was blown off the building and landed across the street after flying across a parking lot.
Other images showed a door that had been blown off its hinges and flung from the apartment complex, while a series of pictures from WTOP showed the damage in the day-light on Thursday.
Dramatic footage also captured the moment two residents - a man and a woman - smashed through a window and climbed out to firefighters on a ladder.
The two people clung to the ladder after getting out of the building, before climbing down to safety with the help of fire crews. People could also be heard shouting in the video. Investigators are currently unaware whether the explosion or the fire took place first.
Resident Mariama Turay told ABC7 'it sounded like an earthquake'. 'I grabbed my ID and I came out and I opened the door and then I saw this fire blazing right in front of me,' she said.
Wendy Loayes, a young girl who lives in the building, told NBC Washington she escaped when a stranger picked her up and carried her out. 'The fire was next to me. I was so scared,' she said, before adding she was walking down the building's stairs with her mother when someone grabbed her and got her out of danger.
Eleven patients had been treated at the nearby Holy Cross Hospital and released by 7am.
The injuries, along with fractures and burns, also included respiratory issues.
The department said it took about one hour and 45 minutes to get the fire under control, which happened after the building's gas supply was shut off.
Capt. Oscar Garcia tells The Associated Press the three firefighters injured are believed to have injuries that are not life-threatening.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Battalion Chief Dee Howard Richards confirmed there had been a structure collapse in parts of a four level apartment building.
'Continuing to extinguish hot spots and account for occupants,' she said.
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