LENOIR, N.C. (WBTV) - Dramatic video showed a building explode in western North Carolina on Tuesday.
The explosion happened near Connelly Springs Road and Norwood Street in Lenoir during the afternoon of June 3.
Video shared with WBTV showed the building on fire before it exploded, sending a large fireball into the air.
Lenoir fire marshal Chris Jacobs said the explosion was a BLEVE, which stands for “boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.” According to FireRescue1 , a BLEVE is when a pressurized liquid inside a tank reaches temperatures higher than that liquid’s boiling point. When the tank gets heated up and can no longer contain the pressure, it explodes.
“Once that tank heats up to a certain point, it’s got to have a release and that’s what happened,” Jacobs said of