A father and son said they feel lucky to be alive after an explosion destroyed their Hampstead home Friday morning.The blast was so powerful it knocked down all the home’s walls and sent the garage door flying into the street. Homeowner Nathan Close’s son said he was cooking at the time of the explosion and didn’t notice any smell of gas. He said the blast threw him across the kitchen.Close said he wasn’t sure what had happened at first.”I woke up and said, ‘What is going on?'” Close said. “My son is yelling, ‘Dad, get out! Get out!’ So, I grabbed a pair of pants and got out.”Close said can’t believe that the house he has lived in for more than 20 years is now gone. But he said he’s grateful that he, his son and their dog were able to escape with just minor injuries.”I feel like I’m blessed that we didn’t get hurt, that the Lord had His hand on us,” Close said.The blast shook the entire neighborhood. “You could feel the whole house shaking,” said neighbor Timothy McCann, who lives across the street. “It was like something I’ve never actually felt before. I thought it was a plane crash or something. It shook the whole house.”When firefighters arrived, they found the home destroyed. They put out a small fire that was burning.”Right now, we’re just looking at each of the appliances to see if there is any damage around those, so we’re narrowing down the appliances at this point to see what happened,” said Fire Marshal Sean Toomey.Officials said that at this point, they believe it’s likely propane caused the explosion.
A father and son said they feel lucky to be alive after an explosion destroyed their Hampstead home Friday morning.
The blast was so powerful it knocked down all the home’s walls and sent the garage door flying into the street.
Homeowner Nathan Close’s son said he was cooking at the time of the explosion and didn’t notice any smell of gas. He said the blast threw him across the kitchen.
Close said he wasn’t sure what had happened at first.
“I woke up and said, ‘What is going on?'” Close said. “My son is yelling, ‘Dad, get out! Get out!’ So, I grabbed a pair of pants and got out.”
Close said can’t believe that the house he has lived in for more than 20 years is now gone. But he said he’s grateful that he, his son and their dog were able to escape with just minor injuries.
“I feel like I’m blessed that we didn’t get hurt, that the Lord had His hand on us,” Close said.
The blast shook the entire neighborhood.
“You could feel the whole house shaking,” said neighbor Timothy McCann, who lives across the street. “It was like something I’ve never actually felt before. I thought it was a plane crash or something. It shook the whole house.”
When firefighters arrived, they found the home destroyed. They put out a small fire that was burning.
“Right now, we’re just looking at each of the appliances to see if there is any damage around those, so we’re narrowing down the appliances at this point to see what happened,” said Fire Marshal Sean Toomey.
Officials said that at this point, they believe it’s likely propane caused the explosion.
