Washington state Motel 6 explodes in major gas blast leaving at least three people injured and two unaccounted for after 'hero' manager followed her gut and evacuated building
- The blast went off about 8.24pm Tuesday at the Motel 6 in Bremerton
- The hotel had been evacuated due to a gas leak at 7.54 pm
- One Cascade Natural Gas employee was critically injured
- At least two people are still missing according to police
- Altogether three people were injured in the blast
An explosion demolished part of a Motel 6 in Washington on Tuesday night - critically injuring three people and leaving one gas worker injured just minutes after the acting hotel manager evacuated the building due to a leak.
The police have confirmed that two people are still unaccounted for as of Wednesday morning, after the explosion rocked the Motel 6 in Bremerton.
Bremerton Fire Department Chief Al Duke told the Kitsap Sun that the missing people may not have been in the building at the time of the blast, but until they were located the search would continue.
The gas leak was reported shortly before 8 p.m. local time (11 p.m. ET), according to NBC News.
And the motel's manager, Tonya Hinds, has been hailed a hero for saving countless lives after she made the quick-thinking decision to pull the alarm and evacuate guests.
She told NBC News: 'I knew pulling it was a split-second decision. I thought this could cause major pandemonium, me pulling this alarm, but my gut told me to and I'm glad I did because it gave us time to get everyone away from the building.'
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Firefighters are sifting through the debris caused after a blast at a Motel 6 in Washington, on Tuesday
Debris rests on the ground after a portion of Motel 6 exploded, just after the business had been evacuated due to reports of a gas leak, on Tuesday August 18, 2015, in Bremerton, Washington
Firefighters work at the scene of a gas explosion the Motel 6 in Bremerton, Washington on Tuesday
Motel workers and patrons had the chance to evacuate just prior to the blast, which happened at 8:24 p.m., authorities said.
The force of the explosion was so strong that it tossed responding firefighters back at least 20 feet, NBC reported.
Emergency crews continued to dig through mounds of rubble early on Wednesday for the two people who were believed to be missing after the explosion.
Earlier, Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan told The Associated Press there were no reports of anyone trapped in the rubble, but fire officials planned to go through carefully to make sure.
'There are no reports that anyone was inside, but we can't say with certainty that everyone was evacuated,' Strachan said.
He added: 'The management did a really good job of getting the alarm in right away and getting the evacuation started. We're very thankful there weren't more injuries.'
Hinds said in a telephone interview that a passerby had come into her office to say a gas line was leaking at the back of the building.
Firefighters hose down the debris field from the collapsed east side of the Bremerton Motel 6 on Wednesday morning
A huge gas leak explosion leveled one part of the Motel 6 in Bremerton Tuesday night, officials said, in a blast that could be felt for miles
The fire was contained late Tuesday night, police said, and it's not believed that anyone was in the motel
Hinds - a former volunteer firefighter - said she went outside and saw that the leaking line was a big one 'with a lot of gas.'
'I pulled the alarm and started corralling people away from the building,' Hinds said.
'I wanted to make sure all my guests were out.'
Bremerton is located west of Seattle, across Puget Sound.
The alarm came in just before 8 p.m., and the fire department and two Cascade Gas employees responded.
Neighbors, pictured, bring water to first responders after the blast left debris all around the area
Flames are seen rising from the Motel 6 in Bremerton, Washington, on Tuesday night after a gas explosion
One of the gas company workers was critically injured in the explosion and was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Strachan said.
The motel had about 65 guests in 42 occupied rooms, and the blast destroyed about one-quarter of the building, Hinds said.
She said that one guest reported having seen someone jump out a window of the three-story establishment and land on or near the gas line just before the leak.
Flames continued burning hours later, but Strachan said that was just the gas burning off from the line as the responders tried to get it shut off entirely.
The motel, which reopened last fall after an extensive remodel, had about 65 guests in 42 occupied rooms, and the blast destroyed about one-quarter of the building, Hinds said.
She said that one guest reported having seen someone jump out a window of the three-story establishment and land on or near the gas line just before the leak.
The Red Cross was responding to find the guests alternative housing, Strachan said.
Neighbors came to the scene and handed out water to emergency workers and worried guests.
Some neighbors said they felt shaking shortly after the building collapsed which they thought was a tree that had fell on their house,' Alice Adams, who lives three blocks away, told NBC.
She said: 'Both the sound and force made it almost instantly obvious that it was an explosion and not something smaller like a firework explosion or gunshot.'
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