Kansas City Restaurant Fire: Gas Line Explosion Blamed For The Blaze


8:15 UPDATE – Witnesses to the Kansas City restaurant fire claim they saw J.J.’s Restaurant staff and patrons run out of the building covered in blood. The gas explosion was so powerful it was heard about a half a mile away, Business Insider notes.

8:10 pm UPDATE – The Kansas City restaurant fire has sent 14 people to the hospital, Breaking News notes.

Kansas City, MO – A gas line explosion is being blamed for a restaurant fire near the Country Club Plaza. J.J’s Restaurant fire started just before 6 pm on Tuesday. People in the Belleview Avenue and 48th Street area noted hearing the explosion from several blocks away.

Multiple people are believed to be injured in the Kansas City restaurant fire. Firefighters are on-scene fighting the two-alarm blaze. Tall flames and black smoke are visible from a nearby highway, KMBC News notes. A treatment center has reportedly been established several blocks away from the Kansas City restaurant fire.

J.J.’s Restaurant website notes the business has been in operation for 27 years. The popular eatery is reportedly one of the oldest independent restaurants in the city. A total of 15 ambulances are on the scene, according to the Kansas City Star. Victims have reportedly arrived at a local hospital with critical injuries.

Police officers have reportedly moved the media and other spectators back due to fears of possibly more gas explosions. A massive fire ball was reportedly spotted when the fire began. A woman who lives on the same block as the Kansas City restaurant fire stated she smelled smoke about 15 minutes before the blaze began, according to the Denver Channel.

Check back with The Inquisitr for more information on this developing story.

[Image Via: Kansas City Star]

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