DAGSBORO, Del. - Multiple Sussex County fire departments and first responders were on the scene of a house explosion in Dagsboro on Tuesday.
One person was killed in the incident, according to officials.
The explosion occurred at a home on Gum Tree Road on Sept. 30. The Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Company says firefighters were first dispatched just after 7 a.m. on reports of an explosion with possible entrapment.
Authorities said more than one hundred firefighters were dispatched to the scene, and that the response spanned departments across Maryland and Delaware.
According to the Delaware State Fire Marshal, the house was occupied at the time of the explosion. Neighbors were able to help one person out of the collapsed home, according to the Fire Marshal's office, but one person remained trapped in the rubble.
Sussex County EMS says the victim died in the explosion, and their body was recovered by first responders. Their identity has yet to be released, and they were taken to the Delaware Division of Forensic Science to establish the cause of death.
The person rescued is in stable condition, according to authorities.
“Prayers of safety to the multitude of fire companies and other first responders that are currently on the scene and en route to a house explosion near Dagsboro,” Delaware State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn wrote on social media Tuesday morning.
The Delaware State Fire Marshal says the investigation into the explosion remains ongoing, and there are currently no indications of criminal activity.
Total damage is estimated at $500,000.
Chopper 16 was overhead as crews responded to the scene.
WBOC spoke with people who live near the home that exploded on Tuesday. Allen Rogers, who lives less than a mile from the house, told WBOC he was outside when he heard the explosion.
"There was a boom, a big boom, and you could almost feel the ground shake," Rogers said. "I thought a big truck had an accident, cause we have accidents at the intersection all the time. We had one not long ago that sounded like that, only this one was ten times louder."
Rogers also said his wife could smell the explosion.
"My wife said she could smell smoke, but that she couldn't see any smoke," Rogers said. "It makes sense to me that there would be a scent in the air after that explosion."
Ralph Timmons also lives less than a mile from the property that exploded.
"It shook the windows, the house, the picture frames," Timmons said. "I didn't know what was rattling, but something was rattling. My wife said something fell, but I told her it had to be more than that to shake the house and for us to feel it."
Timmons said he initially thought the sound came from an airplane.
"I said it must have been an airplane, maybe going into Salisbury or somewhere with a sonic boom," Timmons said. "I hadn't heard one of those for twenty or thirty years, but you used to hear them quite frequently."
Both Timmons and Rogers said they knew the people who lived at the home in passing and that it was a sad day for the community.
"It hurts. It's something that's hard to understand," Timmons said.
This article will be updated as more details become available.
