A fire at a home on Cleveland's west side Sunday morning was sparked by an explosion, the homeowner tells newsnet5.com.
"I was just about to go in when it blew out," said Dennis Veit. "I was standing by the back of my car."
Veit, the owner of the home on West 46th Street, said he smelled gas right before the incident and was about to check it out inside his home.
"My hubby is fine," said Veit's wife at the sight of her ruined house. "Thank you, God. Whew."
She was at church, and no one else was inside at the time of the explosion.
"I was in the kitchen cooking when I heard the explosion, and I thought it was in my house so I started running out my door," said Zaida Delgado, a neighbor. "That's when I saw the house falling down."
Cleveland fire crews responded to put out the flames. No one was injured.
Fire officials have not yet released additional details about the reported explosion.
"For as much damage and the situation that occurred, we had the best results we could have had under the conditions," said Larry Gray, spokesman for the Cleveland Fire Dept.
An arson investigator was on scene Sunday, and so was the gas company. The fire department said the Red Cross is helping the family who lived in the house as well as the one next door. Both are displaced by the explosion.
"These are my friends for years," added Delgado. "Good people, look at the house, I feel bad. It's completely gone."
