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Six people were injured when a home exploded Monday afternoon, scattering debris across a Plano neighborhood and shaking homes up to a mile away. Three of those injured were children, authorities said.
The explosion occurred about 4:40 p.m. at a single-story home in the 4400 block of Cleveland Drive, near West Park Boulevard and Coit Road.
That home was reduced to a pile of rubble, and the homes on either side were damaged by the blast.
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“One home has received major, major damage — in fact, most likely destroyed,” said Capt. Peggy Harrell, a Plano Fire-Rescue spokeswoman. “The neighboring homes, to the right and left, major damage as well, but still standing.”
One person inside the home that exploded was hospitalized, as were five people who lived in the home to the west. An occupant of the home to the east was uninjured.
Officials did not release the identities or conditions of the injured.
Cause under investigation
Lumber was strewn across the home’s front yard and debris littered the street. Residents of nearby homes could be seen covering shattered windows. Officials used the sideview mirror of a debris-coated vehicle parked in front of the home to hold up yellow caution tape.
NEW: Doorbell video from a home across the street from the house in Plano that exploded. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/TC4t3oNp3h
— Meredith Yeomans (@YeomansNBC5) July 19, 2021
Streets near the home were blocked off, and gas and electricity were shut off to the block for several hours. Fire officials asked people to avoid the area, but authorities said residents of nearby homes did not need to evacuate.
The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
In addition to the fire department, investigators with Atmos Energy and Oncor were at the scene. The city’s bomb squad also was investigating, which authorities said was standard protocol, but a bomb-sniffing dog did not find any explosives.
‘Like an airstrike’
Heather Presley, 40, said she lives about a mile and a half from the home and was watching a movie when her entire house began to shake.
Presley drove over when she found out that the boom that she had heard that afternoon was an explosion.
“I thought maybe a transformer or something blew because that’s happened before,” she said. “This was different, though … more intense.”
Jordan Daniels, 15, was in bed at his home one street over when the explosion jolted him awake. He said said that he saw the walls “pulsing” and felt that his house was leaning to one side.
His mother initially thought it was a tornado from the storm passing through, but they soon walked out into the garage and discovered that part of their roof had caved in, he said. At least one window had been blown out as well.
When Daniels walked down the alley, he saw that what used to be a house was completely gone.
“It looked like an airstrike had hit it,” he said.
Mayor John Muns called the explosion a tragedy and asked residents to keep the victims in their prayers.
“We are keeping them and their families close to our hearts and hoping for a swift and full recovery,” Muns said in a written statement.