An explosion all but leveled a Southeast Austin home Saturday afternoon, sending two people with critical burns to the hospital. Austin firefighters responded around 1:25 p.m. to the corner of Stonleigh Place and Bendridge Trail, just south of East William Cannon Drive, between Interstate 35 and South Pleasant Valley Road. When officials arrived, they found two people in the front yard, a man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s, with burns to their upper bodies. They are expected to survive. As of Saturday evening, fire officials were still investigating the cause but Austin Fire Division Chief Thayer Smith said preliminary signs show the incident could have been a natural gas explosion. Linda Lopata who lives on the street behind the site of the explosion was driving on Stonleigh to the store when the force of the blast lifted her car off the road. She said she heard the boom before she saw anything. Her neighbor told her “she turned on the oven to cook a pizza and (it) went 'Bam!' ” Lopata said, her hands still shaking from the incident. The blast sent debris — including the home’s beams, roof shingles and plywood — flying hundreds of feet away in different directions. Siding was torn off the adjacent house where Ricardo Jaime has lived for three years and inside, parts of the ceiling had collapsed. Jaime wasn’t home at the time of the explosion but said the blast damaged his kitchen and living room. Tony Hernandez, who lives next to Jaime but also wasn’t home at the time of the incident, said the explosion punched out a window and caused cracks in his ceiling. “I had just left 10 to 15 minutes before. My brother just pulled up and said the house down the street was on fire. It was pretty scary,” Hernandez said. Neighbors who lived up to three blocks away said they felt their homes shake. “We had heard the garage door shake and I thought my dad had ran into the garage with his truck,” said Yesenia Esquivel, who was with her mom in the living room sifting through old household items. “We both screamed.” Thayer said the explosion damaged a gas line at the home which caused a fire that continued to burn 45 minutes after the explosion. Thayer said the blast was isolated and no other homes should be affected. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } FINAL: Reported House Explosion Box Alarm fire @ 6500 block of Stonleigh Place:#ATCEMSMedics have declared 2 patients Trauma Alerts & are transporting a ~50's Male to DSMC & ~40's Female to SAMC with critical burns but not expected to be life-threatening. No other info available — ATCEMS (@ATCEMS)October 27, 2018<doc-sep>A woman who was injured in a gas explosion at her Southeast Austin home last weekend died from her injuries Wednesday, officials said. Nicole E. Burton, 44, died from conflagration injuries at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, the Bexar County medical examiner's officials said. Her death was ruled accidental. Austin firefighters were called to the explosion, which fire officials said was caused by a buildup of natural gas, around 1:25 p.m. Saturday at a home on the corner of Stoneleigh Place and Bendridge Trail, just south of William Cannon Drive. When first responders arrived, they found Burton and a man in the front yard with burns on their upper bodies, and the house had been leveled to only its wooden beams. At least five other homes and several cars were damaged by the explosion. Fire officials estimated the losses at more than $750,000. "We extend our most comforting thoughts to all of those affected at this difficult time. ... An investigation is underway by an independent expert with experience in investigating incidents of this type to determine the likely cause of the buildup of natural gas," said Kent Shortridge, managing vice president of operations for Texas Gas Service. The investigation could last several months, but so far the company has determined that the failure occurred at the service line connection for a neighboring property, Texas Gas officials said. The explosion might have been caused by third-party damage to the service line, they said. Spokeswoman Christy Penders said officials are still investigating who might have damaged the line. Texas Gas does not handle criminal investigations, and Austin fire officials said they are not conducting a criminal investigation into this. The Railroad Commission of Texas is also investigating the explosion. The agency has the authority to cite people who violate pipeline safety rules and to assess administrative fines. Texas Gas said it did not receive any calls about leaks before the explosion. The company said the problem was an isolated incident and that employees were on site to assist in the investigation, monitor conditions and help affected residents who live in the area. "Safety is our highest priority at Texas Gas Service," Shortridge said. "We take our responsibility for delivering natural gas to all our customers in a safe and reliable manner very seriously." Check out this drone footage from our videographer, Chris Wilkinson, of the aftermath of a house explosion on Saturday. A buildup of natural gas sent 2 people to the hospital, and did $750+K in damage, w/at least 5 other homes & numerous cars suffering some manner of destruction.pic.twitter.com/0zoeBTvtC8 — Austin Fire Dept (@austinfiredept)October 30, 2018<doc-sep>A woman who was seriously injured in a home explosion in Austin has died, according to medical officials. AUSTIN — A woman who was seriously injured inside a home after an explosion has died from complications of her burn injuries, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner. Officials identified the victim as Nicole E. Burton, 44, Thursday, Nov. 1. RELATED: Burton was one of two people inside the home located in the 2300 block of Bendridge Trail Saturday, Oct. 27 when the home was destroyed. Both Burton and another victim were rescued from the home and sent to the hospital with critical burn injuries. Photos show 'catastrophic' damage in reported Southeast Austin home explosion 1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 1 / 10 According to the Medical Examiner's Office, Burton died on Oct. 31 just before 6:45 a.m. The Texas Gas Service said it is likely a natural gas buildup was the cause of the explosion, but it could take weeks to determine what caused it. They also said they found failures at a service line connection at a neighboring property. The cause of the damage to the service line is still under investigation. Crews were in the neighborhood on Thursday monitoring conditions. Neighboring homes and vehicles were also damaged in the blast. A man who lives across the street told KVUE the house exploded as he was bringing out his trash. "I went running towards over there, towards the house, and I saw the lady and then the man came out about 10-15 minutes later," homeowner Santana Vazquez said. "She was burned, but the man, I did see ... he was very burned on his arms. They were real quiet with everybody." It's unclear how the man who was inside the house at the time of the explosion is doing.<doc-sep>
Two people were rescued in a Southeast Austin house fire in October. AUSTIN — The owner of a Southeast Austin home that exploded in October due to a buildup of natural gas died a few days after the explosion -- but her cat survived. The Austin Animal Shelter told KVUE that the cat is at the shelter now and is up for adoption. He has some burns on his ears and his whiskers are starting to grow back, but otherwise he's doing well. The Austin Fire Department had previously confirmed that the house explosion, which injured two people, was caused by a buildup of natural gas. Just after 1:30 p.m. on October 27, AFD said in a tweet that initial reports showed the house 'exploded' and the structure suffered 'catastrophic damage. Officials said the home was located in the 2300 block of Bendridge Trail near East William Cannon Drive and McKinney Falls State Park. Re Box Alarm 6500 Blk of Stonleigh Place. Initial reports are that a house exploded. First arriving units reporting that a structure suffered catastrophic damage. Crews are working on extinguishment and searching for victims. — Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) October 27, 2018 Austin Fire said two victims were taken from the home with significant burn injuries. Austin Travis-County EMS said a man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s were both taken to the hospital. Photos show 'catastrophic' damage in reported Southeast Austin home explosion 1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 1 / 10 While medics said the two did have critical burns on their bodies, their injuries were not expected at the time to be life-threatening. FINAL: Reported House Explosion Box Alarm fire @ 6500 block of Stonleigh Place: #ATCEMSMedics have declared 2 patients Trauma Alerts & are transporting a ~50's Male to DSMC & ~40's Female to SAMC with critical burns but not expected to be life-threatening. No other info available — ATCEMS (@ATCEMS) October 27, 2018 As a result of the explosion, a gas line fire sparked around 2:21 p.m. and fire crews handled that as well. Currently firefighters are working to mitigate gas line fire that was caused as a result of explosion. Initial cause is currently under investigation. pic.twitter.com/fm9oC3dGip — Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) October 27, 2018 Austin Fire said the neighboring home was significantly damaged in the explosion, and three people from that home are displaced. Austin Fire said the total estimated damage for the explosion is $750,000. At least five other homes and multiple cars were damaged in the explosion too. RELATED: Santana Vazquez is one of the neighbors who has seen the damage. Aside from the insulation that now fills his yard, he also had a window fall off. But even with the mess, he's not too concerned and is happy that everyone's OK. "Just a lot of clean up that we have to do, but that happens to everybody," said Vazquez.