West Park house reduced to rubble by explosion
FORT LAUDERDALE - A house exploded overnight in a West Park neighborhood, reducing it to rubble.
It happened in the 5200 block of Southwest 20th Street, just south of Pembroke Road.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue received word of the blast around 12:30 a.m.
When firefighters arrived there was no fire, but there was debris all over the place.
"The home was completely destroyed," said Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane.
"At this point, we don't know the source of the explosion, we just know that the explosion was caused by some type of gas," he added.
The explosion could be heard for miles. Those who live in the neighborhood where it happened were stunned.
"I was in bed. I just heard this loud boom, this noise, I thought my water heater had blown up. I came to the front door and my grandson was there and he told me it was an explosion and I asked if he knew where it came from," said Glen Seymour whose windows were broken.
"I was inside watching a movie around 12 (a.m.) and I heard this loud explosion. It wasn't like an earthquake, it was so impact(ful) that I thought the house was coming in on me. It was like two blocks away from me. Just a minute after that cops came, fire brigades, and the ambulance. I went down there to see what had happened. I was there like 20 minutes and I saw two kids on a stretcher and they went into an ambulance and they rushed them off," said Adrian Moaatt.
A neighbor's Ring camera captured the moment it happened.
"Like a bomb went off. Our door was blown off and everybody was outside — everybody was screaming and hollering," said Christina Barnes, who lives across the street.
Barnes says the family whose home exploded sprinted to her home — pleading for help.
"They came over to my house — the lady, the two kids. They were bleeding, they had burns on them and they were bleeding and crying,"
James Williams says his niece and great-nephew live in the house right next to where the explosion happened.
He says his niece was sleeping on the couch In the living room that was blown away by the blast — but her son woke her up and moved her to her bedroom just two hours before the explosion.
"The roof came down and it was actually on top of her. She was pinned in the bed, and her son came and got his mom out," said Williams.
Williams says thankfully, his niece and great nephew are OK.
As firefighters searched for individuals who may have been inside the residence, deputies evacuated nearby residences.
"In total, four patients were located. They appear to have all been living in the home where the explosion took place. Two of them were children, the other two were adults. All four patients were transferred to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. Three of them were subsequently transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Of the four, injuries include burns, traumatic injuries, broken bones, and things of that nature," said Kane.
Multiple homes and cars in the area were damaged by the blast.
"My friend woke me up and he told me I have to get out because I looked and I saw the door was open and the living room was on the floor. The whole living room. I saw a bunch of dust and light, but i didn't know if it was a fire or what because I just woke up," said Khadijah Orr, a neighbor.
Orr was asleep with her five-year-old daughter when part of their house came crashing down.
"The window was already shattered and that was the only way that I could get out. So I grabbed my baby and I jumped out of the window," she said.
Covered in scratches and smelling gas, she ran down the block.
"I just knew I had to get out. There were no thoughts of what happened or you know there was none of that. It was just get out, like survival mode, my baby is in here let's go," she said
As Orr ran away, another neighbor ran towards the destruction.
"The neighbor's house is, all their windows were blown out. Everyone was pretty much in a panic and didn't know it was going on," said Finesse Nard.
The cause of the explosion is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal.
Neighbors told CBS News MIami's Peter D'Oench that they were eager to get some answers and find out what caused the house explosion.
Kane told CBS News Miami that the explosion was an "isolated incident" and said no other homes were in any danger.
Neighbors also said they hoped the four people who were inside of the home would recover.