One firefighter has died, and 11 other people were injured after a house exploded in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., on Friday night.

Loudoun County Fire and Rescue received a call about natural gas at around 7:40 p.m., and the explosion occurred at about 8:30 p.m. in the 300 block of Silver Ridge Drive in Sterling, Virginia, according to News4.

The explosion and fire occurred while firefighters were inside the building, James Williams, assistant chief of operations for Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, said at a news conference. 

The incident killed one firefighter and injured nine other firefighters. Two civilians were also injured, and all 11 injured were transported to a nearby hospital with injuries ranging from “limited to severe,” according to Williams.

Williams described the scene as “total devastation,” and claimed the disaster area stretches into neighboring houses and into the surrounding streets. 

“When I addressed the group of firefighters, I said that this is the worst call that we can respond to,” Williams said. “And this is a time where we need to support each other and hold each other up.”

The identity of the firefighter who was killed has not been released so far, but next of kin was notified on Friday night, Williams said.

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The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but a 500-gallon propane tank had sprung a leak prior to the explosion. The firefighters were waiting for a Hazmat team to help at the time of the incident.

Sterling is a suburb of approximately 30,000 residents located 22 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.