Six people were injured when a house in the Dallas suburb of Plano was destroyed in an explosion Monday that also left the two homes on either side of it with major damage, authorities said.
Initially officials brought in explosives detecting dogs to rule out foul play, and said the likely cause of the blast was a gas leak. But after Plano detectives and fire marshals looked into the incident further, they've reversed course.
House Explosion Update Press Release pic.twitter.com/vG22568eYu
— Plano Police (Texas) (@PlanoPoliceDept) July 21, 2021
Fire officials said that of the six people hospitalized, one was extricated from the rubble of the home that exploded and the other five were in a home next door. They said a person in the house on the other side of the exploded home wasn’t injured.
“The home is completely destroyed," said Peggy Harrell, a captain with Plano Fire-Rescue. "There’s a lot of rubble that our investigators are having to sift through. But they are able to determine that there was something in that home that was causing a leak.”
Video footage from the scene shows a large pile of rubble where a home once was, with debris and lumber scattered across the yard and into the street.
Neighbor Caroline Klobas told CBS 11 that she heard a noise she thought was her sliding glass door breaking.
“And I just noticed two picture frames on the wall fall down and the sound and that didn’t match up,” Klobas said. “And then, when my husband pulled into the garage, he saw that the roof in our garage had caved in.”
Gas and electricity was turned off to most of the homes on the street until about 9:30 p.m. Monday, when Atmos Energy and Oncor Electric representatives determined it was safe to reinstate gas and power.
Plano police said today that the incident does appear to be isolated and it doesn't look like there are any "indication of threats" to the larger community.
Officials said that the explosion was felt by people as far as a mile away.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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