Calera, OK – CALERA, OK Firefighters believe a natural gas leak was the cause of an explosion that destroyed a family’s home in Calera Friday around noon. The smell of gas filled the air around the area on Stranton Street, and several homes in the area had to be evacuated.
“The walls have been blown out, I mean they’ve been knocked off the floor and out of the roof, they’re leaning. I mean it’s really, the whole house is unstable right now, said Calera Assistant Fire Chief Brian Norton.
Norton worked alongside other firefighters, police officers and emergency management crews to secure the home at 507 Stranton Street.
“The force of it, it blew out it blew the brick off the front and back of the house, it blew all the windows out, he said.
Norton believes this was a natural gas explosion that literally lifted the roof and detached the walls inside the home. Though the house is destroyed, Norton said it could have been much worse.
“I haven’t ever worked one where it didn’t catch on fire, this is the first one, we told the family they’re very lucky that it didn’t catch on fire due to the explosion, he said.
The family is also lucky because the owner and her two sons weren’t home at the time. Just two pets were inside, a dog and a turtle, and both were rescued by firefighters.
“The homeowners are here right now, they’re in a state of shock trying to figure out what happened, what’s going on, said Norton.
Authorities did evacuate parts of the neighborhood. Deena Friar lives right behind the explosion sight and said she left for about an hour after she heard about the possible dangers.
“It kind of shocked me at first, but I didn’t panic, said Friar. “The Baptist Preacher came to the door and recommended that I leave the neighborhood because there had been an explosion and he thought there was gas in the air.”
The house is a total loss due to all the structural damage, even if there was no smoke or fire damage. The homeowner said she does have insurance that will cover the loss. And on a positive note, most of their belongings inside are salvageable.