The residence of two elderly people exploded in the Second Ward Friday morning, blowing out the exterior walls and leaving a skeleton of the house remaining. The Houston Fire Department responded around 10 a.m. to calls about the explosion on the 100 block of North Bryan Street, Chief Theodore Rocha said. The two elderly occupants of the home were not present at the time of the blast. Firefighters treated some neighbors who had sustained minor injuries on the scene and put out small fires in the dining room, bedroom and kitchen areas, Rocha said. The two houses on either side of the home had some broken windows and damaged siding. Half of the roof landed on a car parked in a neighboring driveway. The Houston Fire Department is currently working with CenterPoint Energy to investigate the cause of the explosion. The explosion is thought to have been caused by a gas leak, Rocha said, but this has not been confirmed as the official cause. Several neighbors witnessed the explosion. Michelle Hernandez, 37, lives in the house across the street. “I felt it,” she said. She looked out her window, saw the damage, and called 911. Victor Maldonado, 26, and Joshua Riles, 29, had been chatting on the second floor porch of Riles’s apartment two doors down from the site of the explosion. Their conversation was interrupted by a deafening boom that shook the apartment. “It was like an earthquake,” Maldonado said. “I saw the roof jump.” The two men immediately went over to the damaged house to check on their neighbors. Once he was in the house, Maldonado said that he heard and smelled a gas leak. “I was dizzy," he said. "I was falling everywhere.” He sustained some minor cuts and bruises, but was able to be treated on the scene. The two were relieved to know that nobody had been inside the home. “We were just trying to make sure everybody was okay,” Maldonado said. “I know I got a grandma and I got a mom. And I know I would really appreciate it if somebody did that for them.” Samantha Ketterer contributed to this article. This story is developing. Check back for more updates.<doc-sep>HFD firefighters responded after a house explosion near the 2nd Ward, in downtown Houston Friday morning. The call first came in as a "house fire" around 10 a.m. Firefighters extinguished the fire at the home located at the 100 block of Bryan at Canal street east of downtown Houston. Authorities say that there are no reports of injuries. According to initial reports from the homeowner's daughter, she said that her parents have lived there for about 20 years, and they have a lot of memories there. The daughter said the mom was sad to see her home in that condition, but she's happy that no one was hurt. The HFD Fire Chief said it initially looked like a natural gas explosion. The couple who lives at the home was already at work when the blast ripped a part their home. Neighbors say their homes shook and when they walked outside they saw flames and smelled the odor of natural gas. Some residents say they saw Centerpoint Energy workers in the area just before the explosion.<doc-sep>CCTV Weibo/CCTV Weibo/CCTV Weibo Location of the fire is at the Jiangsu Deqiao Storage Company Ltd in the New Port Industrial Park in Jingjiang city. The fire reached 20 - 30 meters in the air with thick mushroom-like smoke. According to rescue workers at the scene, the burning articles were two gas containers. The company's main business is in storing, transferring, repartitioning and packaging liquid oil/gas products. The factory zone has 12 fuel containers, diesel containers and gasoline containers, and 30 chemical storage containers. The report also quotes a villager Mr. Zhong, whose home is within 1km away from the storage zone that there are two villages near the company with over 1k villagers (altogether).<doc-sep>
Police are responding to an explosion at a home in the Second Ward. HOUSTON - A home was destroyed after a major explosion in the Second Ward Friday morning. It happened around 9:45 a.m. at the home at 101 N. Bryan Street at Canal Street. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion and said they saw people running from the house. AIR 11 flew over the scene Friday morning. The roof of the home was completely blown off and debris could be seen on neighbor's homes. According to the Houston Fire Department, two people walking by at the time of the explosion were checked out by EMT’s but were not taken to the hospital. There have been no reports of other injuries at this time. Neighbors said it was the loudest sound they had ever heard. The owners of the home were not there when it happened. A woman, who said her mom and stepfather live at the home, spoke to KHOU 11 on the scene Friday. She said her parents are devastated by what happened. She also said her mom believes the explosion was caused by their gas stove. HFD says it's too early to determine a cause at this time but Arson investigators are working the scene now. A group of men who are living in nearby apartments said they heard the explosion and rushed to the scene to see if anyone was hurt. As they went through the rubble, they said the gas fumes were so strong, they began to get sick.