Six people were injured, two critically, after an explosion at an Austin house on Sunday.
The explosion damaged at least 24 nearby properties, and could be heard away as far as Georgetown, Austin Fire Department Division Chief Wayne Parrish said. One user on X said the explosion “rattled” their building.
According to the fire department, the explosion caused a two-story house in northwest Austin to collapse. The cause of the explosion is still being investigated, but the Texas Gas Service confirmed that the house had propane, according to KVUE.
Four residents and two firefighters sustained injuries, according to KVUE. Two of the residents were in critical condition.
“As far as we know, we have accounted for everybody that was in all of the residences,” Parrish said in a press conference.
The explosion caused power outages in the area and damaged nearby houses. Carol Hassell, who lives across the street from the collapsed house, told KVUE the blast destroyed her home.
“The back door — the deadbolt was completely separated from the frame,” Hassell told KVUE. “All the windows were blown out, and there’s damage to the ceiling where the sheetrock — you can see where all the nails were put in 30-40 years ago … It’s just a terrible catastrophe.”
Authorities said the explosion was an isolated incident and they likely won’t conduct a criminal investigation. One resident told KVUE the collapsed house had been recently bought and no one had moved in yet.
Read more at KVUE.
