OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A trip to the laundromat was anything but routine, with a noise that was dramatically louder and more violent than the spin cycle.
On the evening of Tuesday, July 30, luck was on the side of four customers at the Classic Laundromat which was ground zero.
What appears to be a natural gas leak caused an explosion that generated significant structural damage to the building of the strip mall and impacted to varying degrees the seven other businesses who shared the same roof.
Ocala Fire Rescue (OFR) received a phone call at 6:19 p.m. regarding an explosion at 1423 NE 25th Avenue in Ocala.
When the public safety officials arrived on the scene, they say there were four patients who standing outside. First responders transported two of them to the hospital, one as a trauma alert, according to Ashley Lopez, OFR public information officer.
“Two of the patients refused treatment,” said Lopez.
Once the fire was extinguished, the investigation phase could begin.
|CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Video shows the fiery blast that destroyed the Ocala laundromat and injured four people
“Right now, we’re in the phase of investigating what the cause was and where everything originated,” said Lopez. “We have the building department, Ocala Fire Rescue, TECO gas company and code enforcement on scene conducting the investigation.”
|WATCH DRONE FOOTAGE: Aerial aftermath shows scope of the destruction from the explosion at the laundromat
The pharmacy at the corner of the strip mall has a separate roofing structure, so it was spared from the explosion.