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(KSL News) A home near 600 E. Wilmington Avenue (2200 South) exploded Monday night. The blast leveled one home and set two adjacent houses on fire.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 10:12 p.m.
Dennis McKone of the Salt Lake Fire Department said there were no reports of injuries as crews put out the fires at the two homes on either side of the one that exploded. It may be morning before crews can determine if anyone was in the structure that blew up.
About 90 firefighters and emergency personnel -- 12 engines and three ladder trucks -- responded to the three-alarm fire. The chaos subsided and crews knocked down the flames within an hour after the explosion was reported.
We received calls from drivers on I-80 who saw the flames. Many people said they felt the explosion from a long ways away. Some neighbors said it felt like an earthquake.
Our news photographer on the scene described the house that exploded as completely gone. Video shows only a foundation and part of the front porch remaining.
No word yet on the cause of the explosion and firefighters would not speculate on that.
McKone told us, "From 39 years of experience, I would say from the moment the explosion hit, that house blew apart."
He said a house explosion like this is rare. "In my career this is probably the fifth or sixth one I've been on," he said.
Get an update on this story on Eyewitness News in the morning.
