Explosion, Fire Damage Ohio Home

June 26, 2009
Firefighters managed to bring the flames under control quickly.

DAYTON, Ohio --

An explosion at a Dayton home leaves firefighters worried that someone may have been trapped inside. However, no one was found, but it did leave a big mess and possible signs of arson.

The fire happened Thursday morning in the 1300 block of Philadelphia Drive.

At this time, it is not know what caused the fire, but arson investigators are questioning witnesses after multiple explosions were heard.

Firefighters managed to bring the flames under control quickly. They said drivers on Philadelphia noticed the smoke and called for help.

Larone Bonner said, "While I was in the drive way, there was a big explosion that caused the front window to come right out on the front porch. Then, there were two small explosions."

District Fire Chief Mark Whisman said, "The front window had already exploded outward. We had glass in the front yard."

Firefighters said they were not sure if anyone was inside the burning house. They conducted two searches of the house and found no one there.

Fire officials said the house was packed with stuff.

Whisman said stuff was piled "knee high. We couldn't make a path in so the guys literally had to throw a lot of the furniture out to make a path."

Once the fire was out, arson investigators began looking into what caused the fire.

"We suspected natural gas exploding inside; however, we've not sensed any kind of odor at all and we have some witnesses that saw somebody running from the house," Whisman said.

Those seen leaving the home were described as teenagers.

Copyright 2009 by whiotv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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