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Man injured after suspected gas leak causes East End home to explode, firefighters say

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.

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.


About the Author

A graduate of the University of Houston-Downtown, Ana moved to H-Town from sunny southern California in 2015. In 2020, she joined the KPRC 2 digital team as an intern. Ana is a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur, a catmom of 3, and an aquarium enthusiast. In her spare time, she's an avid video gamer and loves to travel.

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