HOUSTON – A man suffered first and second-degree burns after a suspected gas leak caused an East End home to explode early Saturday, Houston firefighters said.
Firefighters responded to a report of a house on fire in the 7100 block of Sherman Street at around midnight.
According to firefighters, two men were inside a two-story, detached duplex home. One of the men, Jimmy Dean, was asleep on the first floor.
Firefighters believe there was a gas leak inside the home and one of the residents had possibly lit a cigarette, causing the home to explode, according to HFD District Chief Theodore Rocha.
COMING UP AT 8:30 — Hear from the man who was asleep at the time of the fire. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/AP3g10SHSg
— Rilwan Balogun (@KPRC2Rilwan) March 5, 2022
Neighbors in the area were able to reach the other resident before the fire spread further.
“[The neighbor] told me, ‘there’s a fire,’ I said ‘What?’ ‘A fire.’ I got out of here, it blowed up really bad,” Dean told KPRC 2 reporter Rilwan Balogun.
Dean said he saw his co-resident laying on the lawn with one side of his body burnt. Firefighters arrived and took him to an area hospital with first and second-degree burns.
Chief Rocha said firefighters found a wall that partially collapsed, a type of damage that doesn’t happen often in fires.
No other injuries were reported.
The landlord of the duplex home told KPRC 2 that the dwelling is not insured and is waiting to make the next steps.
HFD Arson investigators are at the scene finding the cause of the fire.