Four Wilmington firefighters were injured while battling an explosion caused by a ruptured gas line Tuesday. 
A car hit a veterinary clinic on New Centre Drive and ruptured a gas line around 11:30 a.m. According to the clinic’s website, this location is their newest building and was expected to open in September. 
Wilmington police said the driver was driving to a car dealership when they went off the road and hit the gas line to the building. That driver ran away, but was later found and arrested by authorities. 
Police said one of the firefighters had severe burns on their hands and was taken to a burn center. Three others are expected to be discharged from the hospital on Tuesday night. It is unclear how severe all of the firefighters’ injuries are.
“It was loud to the point that the people sitting in the booth, it hurt their ears,” said Jocelyn Coronel, who works near the explosion site.
The explosion scene was cleared on Tuesday evening.
Nearby in Wrightsville Beach, it looked like a beautiful beach day from a distance, but danger lurked in the water. There were 15 rip current rescues on Tuesday with Hurricane Erin expected to bring some high waves and strong winds.

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