By Theresa Braine
New York Daily News
AUSTIN, Texas — Six people were injured, two critically, in a massive explosion Sunday that leveled a house and damaged at least 23 other homes in Austin, Texas.
Two of the injured were firefighters responding to the blast, both suffering minor injuries in the 11:30 a.m. explosion, officials said Sunday afternoon. One went to the hospital, and the other refused treatment.
Three others hurt in the explosion had to be extricated from under the debris, and at least one “required an extended, advanced extrication effort to get that person out of the debris,” a fire department official said at a briefing.
Two people were extricated from the primary residence, one in critical condition and the other in serious but stable condition, Austin-Travis County EMS spokesperson Capt. Shannon Koesterer told reporters. Another person, also with critical injuries, was rescued from the partially collapsed house next door, she said. A third suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene, the Austin Fire Department said.
As of Sunday afternoon there were no fatalities, and everyone had been accounted for, officials said.
The explosion was heard in suburbs 20 miles away, officials in surrounding municipalities reported. In the surrounding neighborhood, the blast blew out windows and garage doors in about two dozen homes.
“When Austin Fire Department crews arrived on scene, they found a two-story home that looked like it had suffered an explosion, which was leveled to the ground,” Division Chief Wayne Parrish of the Austin Fire Department said Sunday afternoon at a briefing. “A second house, a neighboring house, had also suffered severe collapse damage.”
A car was on fire outside the house that had exploded, Parrish said. Firefighters extinguished that blaze and a handful of spot fires that flared up in the debris. Power was out for a few hours but was restored by late afternoon to all but the homes that had substantial damage, Austin Fire Department assistant chief Thayer Smith told reporters.
“Initial reports suggesting a plane crash have been ruled out,” the fire department said in a statement. “The cause of the explosion is currently unknown, and the incident remains under active investigation.”
While the house was not hooked up to Texas Gas Service lines, it did have a propane tank, fire officials said.
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