At least 6 hurt in a house explosion in Austin, Texas

(CNN) — At least six people were injured after a house explosion Sunday morning in Austin, Texas, leveled one house and severely damaged another, according to the Austin Fire Department.

Two of the injured were from the house, said Shannon Koesterer, spokesperson for Austin-Travis County EMS. One was in critical condition and the other in serious condition.

A person in a neighboring home was injured and is in critical condition, Koesterer said. Two firefighters were hurt while working at the scene and another person was injured but not taken to the hospital.

The explosion, which happened before 11:30 a.m., left at least 24 homes with reported damage. Authorities also said there was a vehicle on fire, which has since been put out, at the address of the house explosion.

Power has been restored to much of the area with the exception of the houses that were fairly damaged, Thayer Smith, assistant chief with the Austin Fire Department, said Sunday.

“We’re going to be here for hours,” Smith said Sunday afternoon. “The main street will probably be opened, you know, probably within the next hour, but this street will be closed for the rest of the day.”

Authorities have accounted for everyone who lives in the area and the Travis County Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the incident, authorities said. Smith added they don’t believe there will be a criminal investigation.

Boom heard across the city

The boom was so loud, it was heard in the Austin suburbs. The police department in Cedar Park, roughly 20 miles north of Austin, said it was heard and felt throughout the city; it was also heard in nearby Georgetown, said Austin Fire Department division chief Wayne Parrish.

A person who lives near the house, speaking with CNN affiliate KEYE, said she heard a “loud boom” when the explosion happened.

“I thought maybe a branch had fallen down on my roof,” Carol Hassell said. “I went out in the backyard, and the back door had been blown open, and I didn’t see anything on the house. I came out to the front, and then I realized all my windows had been blown out and the front door, and there’s extensive damage to some of the ceilings.”

Hassell said her garage doors were blown in, as well as the deadbolts on her locks.

“I’m just glad I’m OK,” she said.

Niki Fletcher, who also lives in the neighborhood, called the explosion scary.

“It sounded like a tree fell down on the house,” Fletcher told KEYE. “The house kind of shook. The cat got scared.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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