Dash cam footage of a house exploding in East London has gone viral after being circulated on social media and then by traditional media.
The explosion, apparently caused by gas, happened at 4PM yesterday in Ley Street in Ilford, in a terraced home (walking distance from this writer's home), and two people were rushed to hospital as a result of the incident. The most dramatic footage – now seen heavily cropped in other places – seems to have originated from this original:
Other trusted news agencies like the BBC were quick to assemble summaries of the incident which show both the original explosion and footage from other cameras, including security cameras in nearby homes, but it was social media that had the incident out in the world first.
The fire was reportedly brought under control before 6:30pm – though Ley Street, which is near Ilford station on London's significant Crossrail – now 'Elizabeth Line' transport artery was affected for some time afterward.
The video is a graphic reminder of the dangers of gas and fire, with the explosion clearly having the power to force masonry and the roof itself from the building.
At the time of writing, the extent of the injuries suffered by the two people taken to hospital has not been revealed, while London Ambulance Service did confirm the attendance of ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic practitioner, and an incident response officer, as well as members of the HART (Hazardous Area Response Team).
They indicated that three people were treated, but two went two hospital.
It is interesting that the best footage is from the dashcam, even if that being used by the traditional news media is a close crop from the original. It speaks to the quality of the best dash cams and, perhaps, the fact that they are more continuous compared to the sometimes slightly hesitant nature of many of even the best security cameras.
Of course – purely from an image-gathering perspective – it didn't hurt that Ley Street is relatively busy; there would be less choice of footage in a quiet residential street. That said, it might also be true that someone with a dash cam is likely to be awake and driving, so they will be instinctively quicker to pull over and share!
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