Salisbury, North Carolina – Eleven firefighters and two other people were injured in a house explosion in North Carolina’s Piedmont area, officials said.
Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell said the firefighters did not suffer life-threatening injuries but were receiving treatment for bruises, concussions and smoke inhalation following the fire Monday evening. Two other people were taken to hospital, but Parnell said he did not know their condition and could not confirm whether they were home at the time of the fire.
The Salisbury Fire Department responded to the single-family home around 5 p.m. and found it engulfed in flames.
Pannell said in a press conference that 11 of the 22 firefighters on the scene entered the house to search for the occupants and “extinguish the fire” that preceded the explosion.
“It was enough force that the exterior walls collapsed, the roof came up and then it fell again,” Parnell said.
The investigation into the fire and explosion is still ongoing.