DAYTONA BEACH NEWS JOURNAL

Explosion destroys garage
By PATRICIO G. BALONA (patricio.balona@news-jrnl.com)
Staff Writer

DAYTONA BEACH -- An explosion blew off the side doors of a garage and shattered the glass windows of a home on Sears Avenue on Saturday, sending thick black smoke into the sky.

"You could see the door swelling and then it just blew up in pieces," said Andrea Hooper, a neighbor who called 911. "You could hear crackling and breaking noises after that."

An upset Anthony DeGrazia, 45, paced up and down the street as firefighters hosed down his house.

"I have not completely moved in yet, but I had a lot of property in there," DeGrazia said. "I just left to go to the store and when I returned I found the house on fire."

DeGrazia said he had some "paint stuff" stored in the garage, but would not be more specific.

Investigators from the Daytona Beach Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal's Office, are trying to determine what caused the 3:42 p.m. fire, said fire Lt. James Bland.

The fire destroyed the garage and damaged the interior of the vacant one-story wooden structure, Bland said. Damage has been estimated at $75,000, and investigators found only a mattress in the house, Bland said.