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Subscribe to RSSIndiana investigators look for cause of an explosion that killed two, injured seven people. WTHR's Jennie Runevitch reports.
Updated at 9:16 p.m. ET: Officials have called in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate a thunderous explosion that killed two and left 27 homes uninhabitable in a south Indianapolis neighborhood late Saturday night, NBC affiliate WTHR reported.
The blast was reported shortly after 11 p.m. near South Sherman Drive and Stop 11 Road on the south side of Indianapolis, WTHR said.
"Multiple houses engulfed in flames. Even the police officers that got to the scene before I did were not sure what happened. Kind of a surreal scene, even for police officers," Marion County Sheriff John Layton told the station.
Emergency crews rescued Glenn and Gloria Olvey from their home, the Indianapolis Star reported, and were reportedly “battered, bruised and sore.”
Matt Kryger / The Indianapolis Star
Two houses were leveled by an explosion that sparked a fire and killed two people early Sunday morning. The powerful nighttime blast shattered windows, crumpled walls and could be felt at least three miles away.
The cause of the explosion and fires wasn't immediately clear, but Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard dismissed reports of a possible plane crash as he arrived at the scene. Fire officials said separately that investigators would be checking whether natural gas was possibly involved but they had no further details on what was behind the blast that sent tall flames skyward.
Ballard said at least two homes had been destroyed by the powerful blast and that the damage went on "for blocks on end."
Read more from NBC affiliate WTHR
Television video showed tall flames shooting overhead and spreading to numerous homes shortly after the blast reported around 11 p.m. Saturday. Hours after the flames pierced the skyline, firefighters had begun containing the flames and thick clouds of gray smoke billowed overhead.
Matt Kryger / AP
Authorities say a loud explosion has leveled a home in Indianapolis and set four others ablaze in a neighborhood, causing several injuries.
"It was so strong that it clearly had an effect for blocks," Ballard said from the area. Beyond the burning homes there was wider damage in the neighborhood: windows shattered in nearby homes, walls caved in and garage doors were knocked off their hinges.
Residents were told to evacuate to a nearby elementary school and people could be seen shivering in white blankets handed out to them as they moved off.
IFD works to control the fires from the the multiple home explosions on the southside of Indy. @indystar twitter.com/MattKryger/sta…
— Matt Kryger (@MattKryger) November 11, 2012
Ballard said investigators will have to see what they find in coming days.
"We're going to need some comforting in the next few days," he said.
Earlier, Capt. Rita Burris with the Indianapolis Fire Department told The Associated Press that the scene looked like something out of a war zone. "It's really messy," she said soon after it began.
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For heaven's sake! Just Bing "natural gas explosions." You will find hundreds of links to news stories about natural gas explosions that have done damage just like this - and worse - going back years and years.
This is another disaster in a string of disasters that are piling one on top of the other in recent months. Not because of the Mayan calendar, not due to doomsday predictions, nor terrorists or anything else like that, but because of bad, bad luck, an aging infrastructure for all utility services, and a long period of economic downturn during which too many corners were cut, too much shoddy work was done, and too many greedy bastards took the money and ran.
This is another horrible tragedy. My prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to all those affected.
According to Gary Koons head of Indianapolis Department of Homeland Security:
No evidence of a meth lab found
No evidence of any explosive device.
Citizens Energy has found no evidence of a leak up to the meter on the house where their jurisdiction ends.
5 homes destroyed 75 other homes experienced some kind of damage. $3.9 million in damage approx.
And in reply to Dogs6 no we don't have natural gas powered A/C units, DUH. We DO have natural gas powered furnaces with an A/C coil generally sitting on the the top of the furnace and an outside compressor unit. So if some scum of the earth thief were to steal the copper coil, they probably didn't care how they got it out or what else was damaged, they just wanted to get it out fast and get gone.
this terrible really is and at a horrible time with everything else going on, if it is a natural gas leak or problem when will this companies learn to help people by making there product as safe as it can be maybe one day these LARGE COMPAINIES will care about the people that line their pockets and not just where they will go on vaction or what new car they will buy this year! to everyone in america that has lost anyone with all these bad things that have happened lately MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU AND YOUR ALL IN MY PRAYERS
I feel certain the experts will be able to piece together what happened, so speculation as to gas leaks and meth labs is just that at this point. As for the drone strike suggestion ... methinks someone missed a dose or two this morning.
There was a propane gas tank explosion here in our area that did the same kind of damage, the house was by itself in a rural area, the house was just gone like in the news photos and 4 people where dead. probably a gas explosion.
I have a hard time with natural gas or propane gas. With NG you have a stong smell and to do this kind of damage, you'd have to have the house FULL! Propane is more volitial but it also has an odor and also would need a heck of a lot of it. This makes no sence at all. What ever it was that caused it, we will find it was intentional I am afraid.
True Larry M, in my case the home owners, for some reason, did not know what the smell was. For 3 days they would open windows and leave the house. She made a phone call to the builder, home was just 6 months old, and they said they would have someone out that monday. That Saturday, after Thanksgiving leftover dinner, they went to bed, one got ill from the smell that was yet again coming back. The son got up to investigate, flipped on a light switch to the basement and BOOM. Obliterated the house. Some just don't know or attribute it to something else, like in my case, they thought it was the self cleaning oven. Three adults, none of them thought natural gas. Sad but it happens. Turned out it was the drip leg off the furnace, came loose and fell off. (yes, the plumber got sued) So, if they can find that little cap and pipe in all that debris to determine the cause, they will find out what happened here too.
I would think that the republican party can blame this on some third world country in the middle east so that we can start another war, we really don't need a reason to go to war any more since G Bush went to war with Iraq for no reason. Lets hope the democrat in the WH will really look for a cause rather than blame a 3 world country.
Well , not saying it is or is not a gas explosion But you can have more than one type of result from a gas explosion depending on weather the mixture was at the lower explosive limits or the upper explosive limits at the time of ignition. Just a guess though, given the damage to the structure (lots of small pieces blown all over the place ) I would say it was a lean mixture causing a very powerful fast moving blast . Also it was reported to have been heard for many miles away which is indicitive to a blast , so it could have been a bomb as well . They will run samples through a series of mass spectrometer tests for a difinitive answer until then its all speculation .
I always turn off ovens, stoves, faucets, electronics before going to bed or leaving the house.
Well you can't blame Bush no more....Soooo it HAS to be obummers fault.
what's your last name, ray? Douchenozzle?
No, you'll soon learn that we can STILL blame Bush, & he will be, for 4 more years...just sayin'...
Blame it on fracking.
Best to all those affected.
Or on global warming. LOL.
Jeez, armchair experts and conspiricy nuts abound today...Let's wait for a really reliable source...like Jesse Ventura...to tell us what happened.
probably a meth lab
"... the “intended targets” of these Hellfire missiles were the US Army Resource Services (PPBES) and the US Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), both located in Indianapolis, Indiana."
Then their targeting system completely stinks, because all of that stuff is on the opposite side of town and was completely untouched. *eye roll*
Was the house in foreclosure?
This house is in a divorce proceeding. The ex-wife is living in it with her boyfriend and child. They have tried to sell it but been unable to. They happen to be at a casino the night of the explosion and rumor has it, they conveniently boarded the family cat for one night.
Location: 8355 Fieldfare Way, Marion, In (Richmond Hill) (Off east (Alconia Dr) South Sherman Drive between South of Stop 11 Road, and North of E Ralston Rd (39°38'42.20"N 86° 5'53.03"W)
Curiously a red box truck # 201 (Davidson Lumber Co., [DI], (317-445-5005, 317-73?-3211, Franklin, Indiana) appears in the Google Street View in front of 8355? Fieldfare Way, the damaged house on the right in the article picture, with vague images of man and woman in shorts moving in/out of the garage to the truck ramp to 8265?, Google top view is older than the street view, and from tree growth a few years out of date. It appear that 8355, was the source of the explosion, because the basement walls are visible through the charred timbers.
It appears that this was more than natural gas in the basement, but the fire damage may have made our view all the worst. The extensive fragmentation (ballistic debris), and the blast through two floors and roof as well as the damage to house on the left, and the obliteration of the house on the right makes it look less and less likely a natural gas explosion.
Is it on a fracking site?
Im not sure Cold can fire her for a facebook posting....I do not agree with her statement in any way ..But Her Job proformance and her facebook deal..or NOT the same thing..As long as she kept her rather Bigoted views to herself at work....How Can Cold Stone Fire her...It's freedom of speech...She can turn around and sue them for a Cival Rights violation.Because Cold Stone has already states she was let go because of her Facebook comment about the President...and not ANY Job related criteria...She has a right to her own Private views about President Obama..she does not have to like our President..God knows I did not like Bush Baby..I did not wish death upon him either..just a close rock to claw under..Him and the V.P.
But we have the RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH....Others do not have to like it..thats not what the Constutution says...But Cold Stone does not have the right deny her employment based upon her Political view as long as they are not in the Work Place...They should reenstate her giver her a raise and do so very quickly and very quietly..but of course it's already to late...They have already abridged her Civil Rights....
Who farted?
Sorry about that. Anyone remember the unsolved mystery of the Kingman, AZ explosion about 6 months before the Oklahoma bombing? Seems similar, but not a test this time, an accident.
If you can swing it, it's John Galt time: RETIRE.
...ummm....have we found the cylinder yet? Half-buried in the ground, should have a circular area near the end rotating like a screw, followed by sharp hissing sounds as steam escapes, & after the "lid" falls off, people approach it with a white flag, only to be annhilated by what looks like a polished, spinning parabolic mirror?
Sorry-not making light of real death & destruction, just offering an alternative theory...
Looking at the picture what ever caused the explosion came from the air. May have been space debris, meteor or some type of rocket. Look at the 1st picture above: the house in the upper left hand corner. All the debris is mostly in this lot and pay attention to the gapping whole on the fist floor. If it was a natural gas explosion debris would be evenly distributed amongst the yards. What ever hit the house came in a direction that sent the majority of the debris into that house causing a hole in the back of the house.
Pretty big explosion which would indicate a large volumn of gas had accumulated. Don't know how cold it was there during this but seems the water heater or furnace, if they were in the basement, would have kicked on and caused a smaller explosion long before such an amount had leaked. As the gas spread throughout the house it would have also seeped enough outside that anyone nearby would have noticed. There are usually still people about around 11PM. Agree with the posters who mentioned that the homes and area appear to be of newer construction, which would indicate to me that a mistake may have been made when the gas lines were installed, OR, AND THIS IS A BIG OR, someone had deliberately set up a leak with the attention of destroying the house and whoever was in occupation by detonating the gas only when it had sufficiently built up. Of course since there were occupants some means of preventing them from smelling the fumes would have been devised. I'm sure, if the authorities conduct a thorough investgation, they will come up with answers.
I live 4 miles from the explosion site, and the concussion that hit my house was massive.
I personally apologize for this tragedy. I will go back to having my workers use an RV to cook so this doesn't happen again.
Information about the tragedy: