Johnstown, NY- A 911 call came in around 7 p.m. Monday night for an explosion at a home on Elmwood Avenue Extension in Johnstown.
Firefighters said debris was scattered over a wide area.
What little was left of the home was burning so intensely, it took them half an hour to get it under control.
Three people were inside the home at the time. All of them managed to escape with the help of neighbors who said they were shocked by the blinding flash and thunderous explosion.
“We started pulling chimney blocks off and insulation and some beams over the top and we dug a hole and we got Mike out and his wife was behind him. She was stuck,” said Dennis Hill, a neighbor.
“Preliminary indications are there was propane on site and there was a problem with the propane. We haven’t confirmed that. We’ve done some interviews with the homeowner and some family members and we’re wrapping that up in our investigator,” County Fire Coordinator Garth Hillier said.
Hillier added that the victims’ burns don’t appear to be life threatening.