Video shows danger firefighters faced while battling Grandview fire, explosion

A video shot by Grandview Fire Chief Ron Graham shows the danger firefighters faced while battling the blaze and explosions that destroyed a lawn care business.

The 15-second video doesn’t capture the initial explosion. However, it shows explosions about five minutes later, Graham said.

A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Wednesday that investigators had found evidence that fireworks were being made at the business, JW Lawn Service, near 140th and West Outer Road.

The ATF has completed its work at the scene and has forwarded the evidence to an ATF laboratory for further analysis, said ATF spokesman John Ham.

Explosives enforcement officers will piece things together to understand what caused the explosion, he said.

“We still have a ways to go,” Ham said.

The fire and explosion about 7:10 p.m. Tuesday broke windows and damaged at least nine houses and 19 nearby apartments. People in Belton, Lee’s Summit and across the state line reported feeling the blast.

No injuries were reported, but the explosions left a debris field that extended more than two blocks, Ham said.

“How nobody got hurt in this thing is just beyond belief to me,” he said Wednesday.

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Video shows danger firefighters faced while battling Grandview fire, explosion."