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Propane leak blamed for Md. building explosion

By WTOP Staff

WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) — Fire officials are blaming a propane leak for a building explosion that injured two women near Westminster.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal announced Friday that investigators determined that a leak in the basement of the building on Silver Run Valley Road caused the explosion and ignited a two-alarm fire a day earlier.

Officials say one woman is in critical but stable condition at Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Center with first-and second-degree burns to 40 percent of her upper torso and face. The other woman is in good condition at Shock Trauma and is expected to be released Friday.

The small building was originally built in 1850 as a small schoolhouse and housed Premier Financial Solutions. It took nearly 50 firefighters an hour to put the blaze out.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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