Explosion levels house on west side of Indy

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Investigators are working to determine what may have caused an explosion Monday morning that leveled a west side home.

The explosion and subsequent fire happened on Vine Street in a neighborhood off Rockville Road, between South Lynhurst Drive and South Holt Road around 1 a.m. Officials said no one was injured, but the explosion destroyed one home and damaged nearby properties.

Neighbors like Bill Williams, who lives right next door, heard a loud boom.

“I wasn’t up but two seconds and I heard a big boom,” said Williams. “I didn’t know what it was; I thought maybe the transformer out back blew up.”

Williams said he was sleeping at the time, calling the explosion scary.

“I’m just thankful I woke up,” he said. “I’m thankful I’m still here.”

Fire officials were able to contact the woman who lives at the home. She was out of town staying with friends.

Although neighbors said they smelled natural gas before the explosion, investigators had not determined the cause of the blast and fire as of 11 a.m. Monday. Citizens Energy was on the scene to shut off the gas to the home and conduct their own investigation.

“We are doing some testing in the entire neighborhood, and testing the line from the main to the house, to see if gas was involved,” said Sarah Holsapple, spokeswoman for Citizens Energy. “These kinds of investigations could take hours or days.”

Once investigators finish their work at the home, it’ll be turned over to the department of code enforcement.