Two homes exploded in south Kansas City Monday afternoon as an apparent sniper fired shots at emergency workers. one female paramedic was hit.
The explosions happened on Grandview Road just north of Bannister Road around 4 p.m. KMBC's Johnny Rowlands reported that one explosion may have been caused by a propane tank in one of the homes. NewsChopper 9 was in the air above the home when the second explosion occurred and captured it on tape. The explosion sent debris flying into the air at least 1,000 feet, Rowlands said. Police said rubble landed five blocks away from the home.
Fire Battalion 107 was the first to arrive at the scene, and quickly came under fire from an unknown shooter, KMBC's Maria Antonia reported. The 12 firefighters called for help, and police and additional emergency crews were sent to the scene. According to Fire Department spokesman Germane Friends, none of the firefighters was injured.
Police said the shots were fired from the woods near one of the homes. Because of the shooting, no emergency or fire workers approached the house despite intense flames.
Kansas City Fire Chief Smokey Dyer called what happened a "deliberate ambush."
"Whenever you arrive at a fire incident scene and numerous pieces of fire apparatus -- all together we have four pieces of apparatus that have been heavily shot, we have reports from our personnel and the tactical team from the police department that's been in the area that all of our tires have been shot out -- it would be hard to believe that this could be an accidental event," Dyer said.
Late Monday evening, four Fire Department vehicles remained at the scene, all damaged by the gunfire.