UPDATE (8 p.m.) – Kansas Gas Service says they have to cut off gas flow and Hutch Fire is letting the gas burn out. They will start relighting pilot lights as service is restored starting Sunday morning.
If you are able and have power, they ask you to turn your porch light on. Also, if you didn’t do so earlier in the area where gas was shut off, please leave a dripping faucet on to prevent pipes from freezing.
The original evacuation zone has been reduced to the area between C and F from Adam’s to Walnut.
Evergy still has power off in a small area surrounding E and Main. At one point they had around 180 customers off, as of now that’s down to between 50 and 60.
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UPDATE (5:49 p.m.) – “As a fire chief, it’s one of my worst nightmares. I almost lost six firefighters today.”
Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer said at a Saturday afternoon news conference two crews from Station 3 had exited Steffen’s Auto Parts at Avenue E and Main 20 seconds before the building exploded due to a natural gas leak from a 10-inch-high pressure pipeline nearby. “We’re very thankful God was watching over HFD,” Beer told reporters. Two people who were in the building also got out safely.
Numerous agencies continue to work the incident, including all available Hutchinson fire units along with mutual aid response from three other Reno County Department and a Sedgwick County Haz-Mat team that has been doing remote air monitoring. Both Kansas Gas Service and Evergy also responded along with law enforcement, Reno County EMS, the Office of the Kansa State Fire Marshal and others.
The Steffen’s building is considered a total loss. The roof of the building caved in, and Chief Beer said crews continue to put water on the building on which the roof has collapsed. That roof is going to have to be removed, otherwise the fire could burn for days.
As of mid-afternoon the street and sidewalk are still burning as is the foundation of the building from gas bubbling out of the ground in multiple spots.
The first call of a gas leak came in at 9:26 a.m. when an odor of natural gas was noted in the area of the Anchor Inn at B and Main. As crews were getting multiple readings of gas, an evacuation was ordered in a large area surrounding the explosion site, that extended as far north as Avenue A between Adams and Plum Streets. High gas readings were noticed as far south as near Carey Park.
A warming station was opened for those evacuated at the Salvation Army’s 700 North Walnut facility.
Just before the 4 p.m. news conference, Chief Beer said he’s been told two valves on that line had just been shut off. Whether they are the right ones is still unknown, but he said there is still a lot of residual gas yet to burn off, and that right now is what they are doing.
Once the gas has been bled out, they will still have to go into adjoining buildings with high levels of gas along with checking out such things as manholes for various utilities. These are being monitored closely because of the potential that gas might get into such things as basements. “Gas is nothing to mess around with, and when we have an explosion like this and multiple places leaking, we have to figure this out,” Chief Beer said.
As of the time of the news conference he said he has not had any contact with Kansas Gas Service officials, but he is hoping to have someone from there at a briefing scheduled for 8 p.m.
One question that Beer said is frequently being asked is whether this is a situation similar to the 2001 series of natural gas explosions that stemmed from a leaking cavern at the Yaggy storage facility northwest of Hutchinson. It’s not similar in that this leak involves gas that has odorant in it where the gas that leaked from Yaggy did not have an odorant.
Emergency responders have received a lot of support from the community as they continue to work this incident, ranging from people dropping off drinks to bringing food, including hot meals in some cases, similar to what was seen during wildfires in recent years in the Hutchinson area.
Chief Beer noted they are very fortunate in that this didn’t occur earlier in the week when temperatures were well below freezing and wind chills below zero for an extended period. This is also the third major fire incident in the Hutchinson area this week including a large structure fire Thursday afternoon and a fire Friday night north of Hutchinson.
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UPDATE (1:18 p.m.) — Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer confirmed that the Hutchinson Fire Department was dispatched to Steffen’s Auto Parts, 428 S Main St, shortly before 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning for the report of a gas odor. An explosion occurred after crews had already arrived.“This fire is a gas-fed fire through a 10-inch natural gas line,” Beer said. “The main body of fire has been controlled; however, the street and sidewalk remain on fire due to the gas leak.”
All occupants of the structure were able to escape safely.
The evacuation of a several-block area around the fire was implemented around 11:30 a.m. Beer indicated there may be a need to expand that area at some point.
The next update is expected at 4 p.m.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (Feb. 22, 2025) — The Hutchinson Fire Department (HFD) is working a large building fire that began mid-morning on Saturday. Crews responded to the 400 block of South Main Street shortly before 9:30 a.m. The fire is believed to have resulted from a gas main break.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area.
Around 11:30 a.m. HFD and the City of Hutchinson began implementing an evacuation of Avenue A to Avenue F, and Plum to Adams. All residents and businesses within these boundaries are being urged to evacuate immediately for their safety.
A warming shelter has been established at the Salvation Army located at 7th and Walnut for those in need of temporary shelter.
We will provide additional information as it becomes available. Please stay safe and stay tuned for further updates.
