On a seemingly ordinary Tuesday morning in Wilmington, North Carolina, chaos erupted when a car careened off the road and crashed into a gas line outside the soon-to-open Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center. The resulting explosion and fire would not only send thick black smoke billowing over midtown Wilmington, but also leave three firefighters injured, spark a rare emergency call, and put the entire neighborhood on edge.
According to Wilmington police, the incident unfolded just after 11 a.m. on August 19, 2025, when Jason Lee Beach, 46, turned left off Bob King Drive onto New Centre Drive and lost control of his vehicle. The car slammed into the gas lines feeding the veterinary clinic at 5051 New Centre Drive, rupturing them and setting off a chain of events that would soon grip the city. Beach did not stay at the scene; instead, he fled, leaving behind a dangerous gas leak and a building full of unknowns. Police would later find and arrest him, noting clear signs of impairment. As reported by ABC News, Beach now faces a slew of charges including felony DWI with serious injury, possession of drug paraphernalia, hit and run, reckless driving, and failure to maintain lane. He remains in custody at the New Hanover County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.
Emergency responders rushed to the veterinary center, which was still under construction and set to open its doors to pet owners the following month. The facility, according to its website and statements from Eastern Carolina Veterinary Referral, was aiming to provide 24/7 emergency pet care and had been eagerly anticipating a September launch. Staff, construction workers, and animals were all accounted for and safely evacuated before the explosion, a fact that would later be a source of relief to many in the community.
But the real danger was still lurking. As firefighters entered the building to ensure it was empty, the gas that had been leaking since the crash ignited. The explosion was dramatic—debris was hurled hundreds of feet into the air, black smoke enveloped the skyline, and a fire erupted that would take hours to fully contain. "Our whole office shook," Stacy Murtha, an employee at a nearby executive office, told Port City Daily. "It knocked stuff off our wall. The HVAC units in the back aren’t working, maybe some of the debris hit it." The force of the blast was felt well beyond the immediate perimeter, even rattling buildings across busy College Road.
Inside the veterinary center, the situation for first responders turned dire. Three firefighters were caught in the explosion, with one suffering severe burns to his hands and arms. The other two endured less serious, but still significant, injuries. All three were quickly transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center. According to Newsweek, Rebekah Thurston, public information officer for the Wilmington Fire Department, described the moment as terrifying but acknowledged, "This is what we train for every day." She added, "A building this size definitely presents more challenges. You need more manpower. You need more resources, and so I'm fortunate to have partners like New Hanover County Fire and EMS to be able to be here and show some real force against this."
The explosion prompted a rare 'mayday' call from the fire crew—a signal that firefighters were in immediate distress and needed urgent assistance. "A ‘mayday’ was called, which is rare," Thurston told Port City Daily. "But we do extensive training for incidents like this." The emergency response was massive, drawing in fire, police, and EMS personnel from across the area. Lieutenant Greg Willett of the Wilmington Police Department highlighted the scale of the operation: "This is an extensive manpower operation, so this is a perfect case of point of all different agencies from all different spectrum of public safety and public service, helping us out with that."
As the fire raged, New Centre Drive—a vital corridor between College Road and Market Street—was shut down for most of the day. Residents of nearby apartment complexes and employees of local businesses were barred from returning until well after 6 p.m. The Bob King GMC dealership, closest to the blast site, was evacuated as a precaution. Jordan Branyon, the dealership’s sales manager, recounted the harrowing moments: "I went to call 911 and two seconds after that, the entire thing exploded, the entire top of the roof. Everyone went running for our lives, wondering if our building was going to explode too."
Miraculously, no civilians, veterinary staff, construction workers, or animals were inside the building at the time of the explosion. The veterinary clinic, which had been preparing for a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony in early September, now faces a daunting recovery. The damage is extensive, and the timeline for opening is uncertain. Still, the clinic’s leadership remains resolute. As stated on their website, "Our name and location may be changing—but our commitment to pets, their families, and our veterinary community remains as strong as ever!"
As firefighters worked well into the afternoon to secure the gas line and bring the blaze under control—a task finally completed around 2 p.m.—investigators began piecing together the events. The fire remains under investigation, with both the Wilmington Fire Department and the N.C. State Highway Patrol involved. The cause is clear—a driver impaired behind the wheel, a tragic mistake, and a community left to pick up the pieces.
For Wilmington, the explosion at the Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center serves as a sobering reminder of the unpredictable dangers that first responders face and the importance of community vigilance. As the city recovers, gratitude abounds for the quick actions that prevented even greater tragedy, and hope endures that the veterinary center will one day fulfill its promise to local pet owners and their beloved companions.
