Warehouse Fire at US Army Base in Japan Causes Explosion

Explosions in the US army base at Sagamihara City, Tokyo was heard after midnight on Sunday, Japan local time.  Several explosions ablazed the night sky and were described by witnesses as fireworks display.

In The Guardian report, the blast occurred in the building of the US army post, Sagami Depot, when the local fire department received a report via phone call about the incident. The report stated that the facility has hazardous materials. Helicopters were seen circling the base and at least 10 fire engines were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the fire.

According to Japanese broadcasters report, the Sagami General Depot contains ammunitions and petroleum products. However, US army spokesman Lieutenant Kevin Toner told Reuters that the building does not contain hazardous materials. "We are in the process of determining the contents of the building. The depot does not store ammunition or radiological materials." he said. He also added that there are no troops living at the depot. 

Moreover, the explosion incident in the Sagami Depot was confirmed by the Pentagon spokesman US Navy commander Bill Urban emailed to the Guardian. He said: "There are no reports of injury, and base firefighters and first responders are currently fighting the resulting fire to prevent its spread to nearby buildings." The Sagamihara local fire department is still investigating the cause of fire.

Meanwhile, Michael Penn, head of Tokyo-based news agency Shingetsu News told the Mirror: "These explosions happened at a single warehouse. The explosions then continued quite intensively." He, too, said that the place was a deserted area which makes it impossible that the fire could just start without any need to blow up the facility.

Mr. Penn even revealed when the local firefighters arrived at the scene, the US military guards put on restrictions to firefighters. He mentioned that the "water was not used to douse the fire." He thinks that the explosion was caused by a chemical reaction that lead to an explosion.

As of now, the fire had already diminished and the fear of spreading has been eliminated. Witnesses of the incident still share their photos and videos on social media like Twitter and Youtube which showed the explosion incident at the warehouse. 

Meanwhile, the Sagami depot is a place for the 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion who controls army supplies and logistics inclusive of handling chemicals and ammunition. The site was has already been reported before because of three explosions heard last April.