CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Division of Fire responded to a chaotic scene Friday afternoon on the city's East Side after a home exploded and the houses on either side of it caught fire.
CDF Spokesperson Lt. Mike Norman held a news conference to give an update on what happened.
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According to Norman, crews were notified of the explosion shortly after 12 p.m. It happened in the 5900 block of Cable Avenue in the city's Slavic Village neighborhood.
"It was scary," said Demarius Johnson, who was upstairs in the home next door with his four-year-old son. "It was scary for sure because I didn't know what happened."
When firefighters arrived, they found that one home had exploded, and the homes on either side were on fire, Norman said.
Around 45 battled flames for about an hour and a half to bring the situation under control.
"On a scale of one to a big explosion, this was a pretty big explosion," Norman said.
No injuries were reported; the family of four that lived at the house that exploded wasn't home when it happened.
"I'm looking at it, this is my house, what's left of it," said Miles Andonov as he stood across from the rubble of the house he lived in for 55 years. "But it's like a dream or in a movie or something."
Norman said it appears the explosion was caused by a gas leak, based on the damage, and neighbors whom firefighters spoke to said they smelled gas earlier.
Johnson said he first noticed the smell of gas Thursday.
"But today it was really strong," Johnson said. "Like you could smell it."
He said another neighbor called the gas company to report the smell minutes before the explosion.
Friday afternoon, Johnson, his son and girlfriend sat in a car watching fire crews putting out hot spots from the fire that destroyed his home and another on the opposite side of the explosion.
For now, he said his family will stay with his mother, forced to move on from the only home his son has known, but thankful everyone made it out alive.
"Really, I try to look at it as a new beginning," said Johnson. "So I don't get myself too mad or ride myself too hard because of the situation."
