Berwyn explosion destroys gas station at Ogden and Oak Park avenues, fire burns for hours, officials say
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BERWYN, Ill. (WLS) — An explosion and fire destroyed a gas station Thursday in the west suburbs.

Video showed a large emergency response and flames shooting out of a BP gas station located at Ogden and Oak Park avenues in Berwyn.

The fire was finally put out after multiple hours. City officials said crews were already here on the scene before the blast, tending to storm damage when two main gas lines caught fire.

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Berwyn police confirmed emergency crews responded to an active fire around 3:42 p.m. in the 6700 block of Ogden Avenue after a thunderstorm blew down powerlines, which ignited two gas lines at the gas station. The police department began to evacuate nearby homes and businesses while the fire department suppressed the flames.

SEE ALSO | Chicago weather: Heat Advisory in effect, Severe Thunderstorm Warning for parts of area

The gas lines exploded at 3:49 p.m., causing the gas station to collapse, Berwyn police said.

Cellphone video captured the devastation seconds after the explosion.

The force of the blast was so strong that it shattered the windows of Novi’s Beef, a restaurant across the street, and other buildings nearby.

“The roof shot about two-three hundred feet in the air and then it just came down,” Novi’s Beef manager Tom Zednik said. “It just shook us and thank God we have double pane glass, because our windows shattered instantly.”

ABC7 also spoke to one woman over the phone who said she felt her house shake.

Other witnesses also described the scary situation.

“It started off as a small little fire behind the gas station. Everyone got out, that I saw,” witness Michelle Donnamario said. “They were evacuating the house, right there, and then I turned around and went inside then the huge boom. And my neighbors said it looked like a nuke went off.”

Chopper 7 showed multiple blocks surrounding the gas station were closed off to traffic.

“Having it happen a couple of houses away is really scary,” Donnamario said.

There were no reports of any injuries.

“My first thought was, ‘Oh my God, I hope he wasn’t in there. Nobody was in there,” Zednik said.

Emergency crews remained at the scene for hours Thursday evening.

No further information was immediately available.

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