From the Kingsport Times News -
Officials say no one was injured after an explosion and fire at a block of apartments in Big Stone Gap on Friday, December 30, 2022.
Big Stone Gap Assistant Fire Chief Dan Gibson told the newspaper that the department received the call at 6:07 p.m. after people in the area reported a loud bang at 318 Wyandotte Ave.
Firefighters, assisted by the Valley Fire Department and Appalachia Fire and Rescue, arrived to find Apartment 2 on fire and the upstairs front window blown out of the wall.
“We do know there was a propane heater and tanks inside the apartment,” Gibson said. “We strongly advise that you don’t store propane tanks inside your home.”
Gibson said all four apartments had tenants, but Apartment 2 was unoccupied when the fire started. Two other apartments were occupied at the time but the residents escaped without injury.
American Red Cross worker Sheila Collins said all the people in the building had been accounted for and were receiving help with temporary shelter on Friday.
Gibson said the apartment blaze was the second fire call handled by the department on Friday. A grass fire on the road toward Wallens Ridge State Prison was reported and extinguished in the afternoon.