07/15/2026
🚨🚨WFD Responds to Explosion at Multi-Family Residential Structure - UPDATE 6:40 PM 7/15/2026🚨🚨
The Williston Fire Department (WFD) was dispatched at 12:16 PM by the Williams County Dispatch Center (WCDC) to the 1400 block of 4th Avenue West for a report of a residential structure fire with an explosion. Initial reports indicated that a work crew was on site and that the explosion was caused by damage to a natural gas line. Reports also noted that one person on the scene sustained injuries. The WFD activated a first-alarm response, which included two fire engines, a ladder truck, two ambulances, paid-on-call staff, and command staff. The Williston Police Department was dispatched for traffic control and scene security. Williams County/Williston Emergency Management was later requested to provide its mobile breathing air-fill station to support ongoing firefighting operations.
Engine 1 and Medic 1 from Fire Station #1 were the first units to arrive on the scene at 12:19 PM. The Medic 1 crew immediately located and began treating a female in her 20s who had suffered significant burns to her body. The patient was transported to CHI St. Alexius–Williston Medical Center in serious but stable condition. The Engine 1 crew immediately began firefighting efforts and was later joined by Engine 3 and Truck 2. Operations were temporarily hindered by the active gas leak. MDU responded to the scene and secured the ruptured line at 1:14 PM. At that time, the fire was considered contained but not fully extinguished. The structure experienced a partial collapse of the roof and floor into the basement, which made it difficult to fully locate and extinguish the remaining hot spots. The fire was declared fully extinguished at 4:23 PM.
At 1:37 PM, the WFD was dispatched to transport the Sanford AirMed crew from Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) to CHI St. Alexius–Williston Medical Center. The victim, who suffered second- and third-degree burns, was subsequently airlifted to the Regions Hospital Burn Center in St. Paul, MN.
The structure was a four-unit apartment building, with two units on the main floor and two in the basement. All units were occupied at the time of the incident, housing a total of six residents. All occupants have been displaced. Units operating on the scene included Engine 1, Engine 3, Truck 2, Medic 1, Medic 3, and Medic 2B.
The WFD Fire Prevention Division and the Williston Police Department are actively investigating the cause and origin of the incident.