Loudoun County barn explodes, burns ‘to the ground’

Smoke from a barn fire explosion in Loudoun County, Virginia. (Courtesy Aleitha Ravenell)

A barn in Loudoun County, Virginia, was destroyed after an explosion on Friday night, according to a fire official.

An old barn on an undeveloped parcel of land in the 45700 block of Maries Road in Sterling was fully engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived on the scene late Friday night.

The barn was about 30 by 50 feet in size and “burned to the ground” in the fire, Loudoun County Assistant Fire Chief John Caussin told WTOP.

Firefighters used a large hose stream to control the flames and had the scene under control in about 20 minutes, Caussin said.

He said some challenges included nearby brush that started to catch fire because of the location of the barn in an open field.

Firefighters returned to the scene on Saturday morning around 10:20 a.m. because a passerby saw smoke coming from the area.

Caussin said that firefighters reported that the fire was “smoldering.” One unit remained on the scene to respond.

There were no reported injuries from the fire.

Based on explosion, Caussin said the fire department believes it was possibly from a propane cylinder.

He said about a week or two ago there was a fire in a similar structure “adjacent to this property.”

A map of the location of the explosion can be seen below:

Valerie Bonk

Valerie Bonk started working at WTOP in 2016 and has lived in Howard County, Maryland, her entire life. She's thrilled to be a reporter for WTOP telling stories on air. She works as both a television and radio reporter in the Maryland and D.C. areas. 

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