An explosion and subsequent fire at Pendleton's old city hall building Tuesday morning claimed the life of a 25-year-old man and injured two others. Firefighters and police remained at the scene the entire day though the fire was contained by 10:20 a.m., according to The East Oregonian.
Twenty-five-year-old Eduardo Quezada, who was in his apartment at the time, succumbed to injuries sustained in the explosion and the two others injured in the incident were rushed to a nearby hospital.
The blast destroyed parts of the century-old structure located in downtown Pendleton, a city close to the Washington state line. The building housed the city government until the mid-1990s, after which the City Hall was relocated and the building was sold to a private owner, according to KGW.
"At first it sounded like thunder," said Charlene Hanson, who was signing loan papers next door when she heard the explosion. "There was a light one, a bigger one and then a huge explosion."
Jared Pennington was working in his music studio in the former city hall building when the explosion caused the structure to vibrate, prompting him to run outside, but he rushed back in to help rescue Quezada, who lived in the apartment on the third floor. Quezada was in bad shape, with a gash on one leg, missing fingers and an eye, moaning in pain and bleeding profusely. "He was bad off," said Pennington.
Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said authorities have determined the cause of the explosion but would not release the information until further investigation. He commended the firefighters for preventing the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings, according to The Washington Post.
