Report Of House Explosion In Flooded New Jersey Town
POMPTON LAKES, N.J. (AP) -- Firefighters in a boat responded to a report of a house explosion in a flooded northern New Jersey town Monday morning.
Pompton Lakes Police Lt. Ronald Thomas said firefighters were trying to pump water on the burning structure.
Thomas said it's not known if the home was occupied, but there are no reports of injuries. The neighborhood was evacuated because of flooding caused by Hurricane Irene.
Television news footage showed the house completely leveled. Bill Hartman, who lives nearby, told News 12 New Jersey he bolted up in bed as his house and windows shook because of the blast. Hartman says he saw a "huge ball of thick smoke."
Thomas says the cause of the fire is unknown, but natural gas service was not turned off in the neighborhood.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
