911 call reveals calm report of gas leak before Durham building exploded

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The first 911 call reporting a gas leak in Durham came in at 9:37 Wednesday morning. Exactly 30 minutes later, the building exploded.

"The emergency is we have hit a gas service on North Duke between Main Street and Morgan Street -- probably need a little police presence until the gas company can get here to shut the leak off," the caller said in the first 911 call, and he added they could smell it and described the gas line.

"I think it's going into the little restaurant, commercial," the caller said. The dispatcher asked, "Is anyone sick or injured?" The caller answered, "No ma'am."

The caller was clearly unaware of what would happen.

"It's just a gas service, but just to be safe until the gas company gets here," the caller said.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the explosion after the gas leak.

Kong Lee, 61, the owner of the Kaffeinate coffee shop, died in the blast. 25 others were injured.

Fire officials say they urged everyone in the coffee shop to evacuate.

Witnesses said Lee was closing up his shop just before the explosion.

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A Facebook post was uploaded on the Kaffeinate page Wednesday saying, "Due to circumstances beyond our control-we are CLOSED today. We will keep you updated on tomorrow. Thanks for understanding!"

It was uploaded on Facebook at 10:05 a.m.

The building exploded at 10:07 a.m.