Canton Fire reports a second burn victim has been found following a home explosion on Thursday, July 30.
Canton Fire Division Chief Steven Henderson told 19 News that the call came in before 4 a.m. for a home explosion located at 1617 Bonnot Place NE.
The home where the explosion happened was empty and on sale at the time, according to Canton Fire.
Firefighters located one occupant in the street who had been blown from the structure by the blast.
Steve Henderson, who is the Division Chief of the Canton Fire Department, told 3News’ David Greenberg that person had burns to approximately 80% of their body.
The injured victim told firefighters that another person was inside the home at the time of the explosion.
But as crews searched the scene for that missing person, Henderson told 3News that nobody was found in the rubble.
After searching for the second person in the home, at around 8:21 a.m., firefighters responded to 1521 15th Street NE for reports of a person with severe burns.
The man was identified as the other person in the home and taken to Aultman Hospital.
Canton Division Chief Steve Henderson tells FOX 8 the explosion could be felt 2 miles away.
“It was a big boom like a bomb or missile was going off. It actually shattered some of my neighbor’s windows even and shook my whole house,” said Victor Howell, who shared video of the scene.
Neighbor Devantè Jackson captured his own footage.
Devantè Jackson shared this video with 3News that shows flames shooting from a home in the area after the explosion.
Video from a neighbor shows flames shooting out of the side of a house. “It blew everything off my walls. My cabinets are open. My TVs are blown off the walls,” neighbor Nicole Cole said.
Neighbor Natalie Gibson said she was fast asleep when she was awakened by the explosion. “Our whole house shook. I mean our windows were blown in and I immediately knew something was horribly wrong,” Gibson said.
Division Fire Chief Steve Henderson told News 5 that the explosion was caused by a natural gas leak, although the cause and point of origin of it is still under investigation.
However, Division Chief Henderson told News 5 there were copper pipes present in the home.
The blast’s destructive power was staggering.
As a result of the blast’s strength, he said two homes were moved so far off their foundations that they will need to be demolished, and another three nearby houses could need to be demolished as well.
The explosion scattered debris throughout the neighborhood and brought down multiple power lines, creating additional hazards for emergency responders and residents.
Canton Fire tells FOX 8 at least 5 additional houses were damaged with multiple residents displaced.
Canton Fire estimated the damage at about $83,100.
The American Red Cross mobilized to help those forced from their homes.
Division Chief Henderson said that the Red Cross is helping 23 people relocate following the explosion.
In the viral moment that unfolded early Thursday,
The blast was so powerful, it blew one man into the street.
Security camera footage captured the moment of the blast, showing the structure erupt in a massive fireball that consumed the entire house in seconds. The force was so violent that the man was ejected from the home, landing in the street with catastrophic burn injuries.
The second man initially reported by the first survivor wasn’t found at the scene despite an extensive search through the debris field. Hours later, he was discovered blocks away, having walked or been transported to a nearby residence on 15th Street Northeast where he was found and rushed to the hospital.
Canton Fire said he is expected to be transferred to the Burn Center at Akron Children’s Hospital for specialized treatment.