Kaffeinate Coffee Shop Owner Kong Lee Dies In Explosion

DURHAM, NC — Kong Lee, the 61-year-old owner of Kaffeinate coffee shop in Durham, died in Wednesday's explosion, police said Wednesday night. Mayor Steve Schewel called the deadly gas explosion in Durham a "terrible tragedy" and said he felt a "real sense of loss and grief."

The blast, which occurred on the city's 150th anniversary, left 17 others hurt. Investigators determined it was caused by a contractor who struck a gas line around 10:30 a.m. outside the specialty coffee shop, located in downtown Durham about two miles east of Duke University.

The building, also home to the software company Prescient Co Inc., is in historic Brightleaf Square near locally owned restaurants and shops.

"This is the kind of day you never prepare for as a mayor," said Schewel. "It's not something that you necessarily ever think that you're going to have to face."

Schewel said he also felt a tremendous sense of gratitude seeing firefighters battling the blaze and police officers evacuating surrounding buildings even as they knew a second explosion was possible. A massive plume of thick, black smoke could be seen shooting out of the roof of the building. One person was killed, police said at a news conference. A contractor digging under a sidewalk triggered the explosion, a spokesman for the Durham Police Department told media outlets Wednesday.

"He hit a 2-inch gas line, which then caused an explosion and also a partial building collapse," the spokesman said. "At this time we have one fatality confirmed. We also have one firefighter who was seriously injured. We have 15 individuals transported at this time."

Four people were sent to Duke Regional and many others were sent to Duke Medical Center. Emergency officials said details about the victims weren't immediately known. Students at nearby Durham School of the Arts were dismissed.

"That school sits very near to the explosion," the police spokesman said. The scene could be going on for "quite a while," he added.

The school will remain closed Thursday, district officials said.

Mayor Schewel said there are still a lot of details that remain unclear.

"There's rumors that fly in this kind of situation. We're not going to confirm nor deny the rumors," he said. "What we're going to try do, all of us, is just try to give you the facts that we know."

Fire officials said the blast impacted five building. Firefighter Darren Wheeler was seriously hurt and is out of surgery. He is recovering from his injuries.

"As far as all of the people who were known to be in the buildings or around have been accounted for, but there are still significant areas we need to search," said Bob Zoldos, fire chief of the city's fire department.

There was a significant fire, he said, and all fires have been contained or are under control. Search and rescue operations are still underway. This includes tunneling and de-layering of the building. This process could take a couple days and the area could be shut down for days.

Police and city public affairs workers will distribute notices to impacted residents and businessowners letting them know when can return and collect their belongings, said city police Cerelyn "C.J." Davis.

Tevan Alexander told Patch in a tweet he felt the explosion and immediately heard sirens.

"The people and buildings closer to Kaffeinate were affected the most," he wrote.

Greg Ford, vice chair of the Wake County commission, told Patch in a Facebook message he was with county leaders, managers and health officials across the state when the blast happened. They were in a ballroom of the nearby Durham Convention Center and heard a loud explosion. Chandeliers shook.

"In the moment, folks speculated that something hit the building," he said. "The Secretary was speaking when it happened, and after pausing for a brief buzz of chatter around the room, continued with his presentation. Folks continued to check their phones for any indication of what happened, and then initial reports started coming in."

Durham Public Schools said in a statement that all students and staff were safe in place at the school and there were no injuries. The school dismissed early under the advice of emergency responders.

Police and city officials warned the public to avoid Brightleaf Square, which has been blocked off.

"Our first responders are on scene now & working hard to get this under control," the city tweeted. "You can help them by staying away so they can safely & quickly work."

Robin Jarvi told WTVD-TV she's never seen anything like the explosion.

"I was sitting at the traffic light . . . and I smelled heavy, heavy gas. There were people in the building. I saw a business owner but a sign that said 'Business is closed for the day because of a gas leak.' As soon as I went through the traffic light, the whole building exploded."

The specialty coffee shop Kaffenate wrote in a Facebook post that it had closed Wednesday "due to circumstances beyond our control."

"We will keep you updated on tomorrow," the coffee shop wrote. "Thanks for understanding!"

The blast also impacted water quality in the area. Durham Saves Water, a site operated by the Department of Water Management, tweeted there were reports of cloudy or brown water for some customers. This was caused by firefighters putting an excess strain on the system as they battled the blaze.

Officials told Patch that residents should avoid drinking "reddish/brown water."

"Cloudy water usually means air in the line," officials wrote in a tweet. "Customers should flush their lines - run cold water at full force through showers/tubs until the water is clear."

Police said the following roads are closed: Duke Street from Chapel Hill to Fernway; Main Street from Gregson to Fuller; and Morgan Street from Gregson to Fuller.

The cause of the blast remains under investigation.

A gas explosion has occurred at 115 N. Duke St. Duke St. from Chapel Hill Rd. to Morgan St. is closed. AVOID the area. pic.twitter.com/9UdKMiKx7h
— Durham EM (@AlertDurham) April 10, 2019

Firefighters are putting out the Kaffeinate fire from all angles pic.twitter.com/pbFEbVh0xc
— Tevan Alexander (@tevan) April 10, 2019