PLANO, Texas — A house explosion utterly rocked a Plano neighborhood Monday afternoon and sent six people to area hospitals, according to fire officials.
The explosion occurred in the 4400 block of Cleveland Drive. The Plano Fire Department confirmed six people were injured in the blast. Three victims were transported to Medical Center of Plano. Three others were transported to Children’s Medical Center Plano. One person was inside the home where the explosion occurred. The other five patients were inside the house to the left of the explosion. Officials have not disclosed the identities of the individuals or the extent of their injuries, NBC 5 reported.
The cause of the catastrophe is unknown at this point in the investigation, authorities said. But whatever the source of the detonation, the home was leveled, debris was scattered for hundreds of feet around and the shockwave reportedly shook buildings up to a mile away, according to a local reporter who felt the tremor while working from home.
“When we arrived, we found the home of origin of course with major catastrophic damage,” said Captain Peggy Harrell of Plano Fire Rescue.
Aerial views of the neighborhood showed a pile of wood framing and other debris where a home previously stood not far from the intersection of W. Park Boulevard and Coit Road, NBC 5 reported.
The Plano Police Hazardous Device Unit was called to the scene. The unit’s K9 did not alert or detect hazardous materials or explosives at the location. Therefore, the Plano Police Department determined there was no need for evacuation of nearby homes.
A neighbor who lives down the street said other homes had damage to windows from the blast. There were storms in the area, and the resident made a curious observation, NBC 5 reported.
“I saw the lightning strike come down. It was a bright blinding light and all the sudden, it was like a huge plume of black smoke just went up and debris just went flying,” said Taylor Reddick.
Electricity and gas have both been cut off to the entire block as crews work to determine the cause of the explosion.
