OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma City emergency responders were called to the scene of an explosion that leveled a home Friday.
“If felt like a bomb had happened, a big old bomb,” said neighbor Esperanza Hernandez.
An official with the Oklahoma City Fire Department said that one person lived at the home.
Two K9 teams responded to the scene of the blast to search the rubble, and Oklahoma City police officials were later said there was no one inside when the blast happened.
Officials eventually got ahold of the home owner, who is currently in Waco, Texas. They said he was shocked when they told him his house exploded.
Fire officials said a strong natural gas odor was detected, but authorities were still working to confirm the cause of the explosion at publishing time.
“We’re waiting for confirmation from [Oklahoma Natural Gas], but when firefighters did arrive, there was a smell of gas in the area,” said Capt. Scott Douglas with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. “And we did have a couple neighbors advise us that they called ONG a couple days ago on some gas issues that was happening up and down the street at some of these houses.”
ONG personnel responded to the scene to investigate Friday.
Fire officials said they shut off the gas at the location and turned off all power that the home was receiving.
It’s heartbreaking that a community member lost his home, Douglas said.
“It’s tough to see a house with one of our residents in Oklahoma City, their house leveled to the ground. It’s disheartening that we have a neighbor who is without a home,” he said.
The Oklahoma County Assessor Office’s website shows that the home in the below image is the home that exploded:
