Explosions on the rise

[Kojima]

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An oil field exploded in Basra Iraq [Iraq Oil Report ; Published September 20, 2011]; Comment by Starr DiGiacomo

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List of comment about gas explosion, in order of posted time; as of 2011-09-01

 

1) SOMERVILLE, Ohio, US; "Investigation continues in house collapse"

2) BAKERSFIELD, Calif. US; "Bakersfield resident hurt in natural gas explosion"

3) Pompton Lakes, NJ, US; "Update: Suspected gas explosion levels home in Pompton Lakes [raw video]"

4) Brantford, Ontario, Canada; "Natural gas explosion levelled Brantford house: fire marshal"

5) Warren, MI, US; "City of Warren Home Explosion Underscores Need for Natural Gas Safety"

6) Castleford, West Yorkshire, UK; "Dramatic footage shows huge gas explosion at Yorkshire home"

7) Warren Park, Harare, Zimbabwe; "2 seriously injured in Warren Park gas explosion"

8) Logan City, south of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia; "Seven children killed in gas explosion at house"

9) Herscher, IL, US; Douglasville, GA, US; "This Week In Natural Gas Leaks and Explosions – Aug. 22, 2011"

10) "Seven children killed in gas explosion at house" [See 8)]

11) Lakeview, MI, US; "Explosion inside Lakeview house causes fire, couple escapes with minor injuries"

12) Newborough, Victoria, Australia; "Gas blast destroys Newborough garage"

13) Cato, Montcalm, MI, US; "Couple escapes house explosion"

14) Glenrock, Converse, WY, US; "Oilfield explosion claims three"

15) St. Augustine, Fla, US; "Gas Station Explosion Site in St. Augustine now 'Stable'"

 

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* Comment by Starr DiGiacomo

We'll be seeing an uptick in unusual home and business gas explosions and I'm trying to locate specific ZT on the matter.  Below is a refresher for the many gas related news articles.

http://zetatalk5.com/index/blog0214.htm

SOZT

Fault lines, when adjusting, do not just rip apart one day during a dramatic earthquake. They most often creep. Laying gas lines along or across a fault line is asking for an accident of this sort. Fault lines are also seldom so clearly delineated that one can go a mile in this or that direction and avoid their action. Where a slip-slide fault such as the San Andreas will often leave a clear line on the surface, this is only the surface action, not what occurs in the rock layers on either side which can fracture for a long way to either side during any movement. The gas company, or the age of the pipes, will be faulted but in truth the finger should be pointed in many directions. The public, who insist on living at such a scenic spot, is to blame. Officials, who zoned for housing are to blame. The public utility company, for allowing gas lines in the area, is to blame. But this will change nothing, while man continues to live on the San Andreas, even as it awakens. EOZT

http://www.zetatalk5.com/ning/18sp2010.htm

SOZT

The danger from radon gas will not be increased as a result of the pole shift. Radon gas is emitted by rock containing uranium, which is degrading. In normal circumstances, where air can circulate, it is disbursed rapidly as is any methane created by decay of organic material. The danger from these gasses comes from confinement - being trapped in a mine, a basement, or beneath the permafrost. The dangers are well known. For methane, it is explosions. An accumulation of methane gas can be identified by the smell of rotten eggs, or as some have described it, dirty socks or cabbage soup. For radon gas the danger is lung cancer, from the continual exposure to the radioactive air. Radon gas is odorless, and cannot be detected except by specialized equipment not in the hands of the average person.

In that the pole shift, or the Earth changes preceding the pole shift, can fracture rock and release pockets of either gas, survivors should be cautious about huddling in bunkers. You are safer out in the open air, or in a trench you have dug that will allow the pole shift winds to pass over you, but nothing to fall on and crush you. The fact that both methane gas and radon gas can accumulate in the bunkers of the elite is one of the reasons we have stated that they have dug their own graves. EOZT

http://www.zetatalk5.com/ning/12mr2011.htm

 

* Comment by Starr DiGiacomo

SOZT

Anyone watching the news, for instance the news on the San Bruno explosion in a distribution line close to the San Andreas Fault line, knows that gas in any form is a danger. Oil and gas refineries explode when rigid piping cracks. Oil or gas wells explode when the ground around them moves. And the gas distribution lines running under cities are no exception. They likewise will explode. Gas lines, whether along the street or within a home, are rigid. In some cases automatic shutoff valves can limit the amount of gas available for an explosion by sensing a drop in pressure, but this is always after the fact. The explosion has already occurred. Utilizing gas on a planet prone to earthquakes was a mistake to begin with, but man never thinks of the consequences when striving for modern conveniences. We have advised turning off the gas at the street, though when the street explodes and your neighbor's homes are on fire you are not likely to escape the holocaust. A better alternative is to live in an area where gas is not available, as in your rural safe location where you will be doing a form of camping while gardening. A campfire at night, for cooking and washing and a bit of friendly light before bed. Nothing explosive. EOZT

http://www.zetatalk5.com/ning/02oc2010.htm

 

* Comment by Starr DiGiacomo

SOZT Answer: It is no accident that the New Madrid fault lies under the Mississippi River near Memphis, as rivers form in lowlands created when land pulls apart, separating the rock fingers and weakening support for the land. Thus, the Ohio River bed also is an indication of where rock fingers will pull apart. Two adjustments in Kentucky, a day apart, are not an accident, but an indication of the speed at which the stretch zone is starting to adjust. Rail lines are frequently an early harbinger of such adjustments, as they run long distances, whereas structures within cities, such as tall buildings, take up relatively little space and have a small footprint. Our warning that imploding cities will be experienced, before the hour of the shift, are in this regard. Be warmed, it will not just be your rail lines and gas and water mains that will shatter and be pulled apart during the stretch. The foundations of your tall buildings will likewise be vulnerable.EOZT

http://www.zetatalk5.com/newsletr/issue008.htm

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[Original post on January 20, 2011]

Original title: Gas explosion kills 1, injures 5 in Philadelphia

 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/01/19/pennsylvania.gas.explosion/index.h...

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The explosion occurred in Philadelphia's Tacony neighborhood
• The blast killed one utilities worker and injured five other people
• Some of the injuries are serious

(CNN) -- A gas main explosion in Philadelphia Tuesday evening killed one utilities worker and injured five other people, a fire department official said.

Philadelphia Gas Works employees were responding to a gas main break in the city's Tacony neighborhood when the explosion occurred, fire department spokesman Jim Smith said.

"They were trying to control it and found a source of ignition," according to Smith, who said four PGW employees and a firefighter were among the injured. He said some of the gas workers' injuries were serious.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/natural-gas-explosion-philadelphia-...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/caught-on-tape-gas-main-explodes-126...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_tuscarawas/one-dead-...

One dead in Bolivar natural gas explosion

BOLIVAR, Ohio - Firefighters in Bolivar are not sure what caused an explosion that killed a 19-year-old man at an oil and gas well Monday morning.

The victim is from Stark County, but his identity has not yet been released.

Thick, black smoke could be seen billowing from the area when the explosion happened around 9:40 a.m. in the 10000 block of state Route 212. The well is on private property, but is owned by MKE Producing Inc., a private investment group, according to Lawrence Township officials.

There were two workers at the site, but one person was called to North Canton, according to the Tuscarawas County Coroner Dr. James Hubert. When the supervisor was driving back to the site, he found out about the blast.

"The bottom line is that when he was gone, there was an explosion. All the neighbors heard it," Dr. Hubert said.

An employee at a nearby group home said he felt the ground start to shake and looked toward the oil well. He said the cover of a storage tank shot about 100 feet into the air, and fuel leaked down a driveway and into a field.

The holding tank landed more than a quarter of a mile from site of the blast, dropped in a field and scorched a large section of grass.

Brandie Hanley, who lives around the corner from the blast site, took several pictures and said the force of the explosion blew open her back door.

"I thought maybe something actually crashed. It was awful. It was the worst think I've seen."

Responders from more than a half-dozen departments helped to get the resulting fire under control. Hazardous-materials crew were trying to contain the fuel spill.

The medical examiner said one law enforcement official was also taken to a nearby hospital after inhaling toxic fumes.

Firefighters first responded to a call of a natural gas smell, but the explosion apparently happened while rescue crews were on their way.

The state fire marshal is investigating. A cause is unknown at this point.

Lawrence Township City Hall erroneously reported two people died around 1 p.m.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.firehouse.com/news/10742521/explosion-wracks-oregon-dist...

Explosion Wracks Oregon Distillery

Ashland Daily Tidings, Ore.
July 15, 2012

A violent explosion blew the garage door off an Ashland distillery and sent flames shooting under a door the employee had just closed behind him.

July 14--Alchemical Solutions had one lucky still operator working Friday inside its Ashland distillery when a violent explosion blew the garage door off its warehouse and sent flames shooting under a door the employee had just closed behind him, the owner said.

The organic distillery and the majority of its specialty equipment were gutted in the alcohol-and-natural-gas-fed inferno, Alchemical Solutions owner Aaren Glover said.

The company, which produces bulk pure spirit alcohol for tinctures, perfumes and drinks, among other products, leases the 12,000-square-foot warehouse along with Dagoba Organic Chocolate, which stores raw materials in a section of the warehouse opposite Alchemical's operation, Ashland Fire & Rescue spokesperson Chris Chambers said.

No one was injured during the incident, he said.

Large stores of raw cacao, sugar and other materials owned by the chocolate manufacturer were ruined from smoke damage and a lack of electricity for cooling during the blaze, he said.

Glover, who has only begun to estimate the cost of the damage, said it could total anywhere from $1.5 million to $2 million. Both the business and the landowner, Capstone Asset Management Corp., have insurance.

"I think it could have been a gas leak "... alcohol doesn't explode," Glover said. "Everything in there is explosion proof. We've been doing the same process for nine years "... nothing unique about today."

Glover's employee, whom he wished to keep anonymous, had just started the morning's first batch, "a few-hundred-gallon re-still," of 150-proof spirits, Glover said.

"He started it and walked into the office. "... He felt the 'boom!' and saw flames shoot under the door back to the warehouse," Glover said. "He was seconds away from being in that."

The rest of about 300 gallons of high-proof alcohol Glover has on hand was locked away in fire-proof containers and did not contribute to the fire, Chambers said. A 32,000-pound heap of organic corn grain in the distillery did burn and go to waste in the flames.

The blaze sent a towering black column of smoke a few hundred feet into the air south of Ashland.

Ashland Fire & Rescue Capt. Matt Freiheit said firefighters were forced to knock down most of the blaze before being able to attack one portion of the fire fueled by a gas leak.

Residents in neighborhoods on the south side of Tolman Creek Road were without gas as Avista workers were forced to shut off lines farther away from the valve at the distillery, which sits beneath where gas-fed flames poured out the building's windows.

The gas was turned off at about 1 p.m., Freiheit said.

Valerie Muroki, who is retired and lives on Tolman Creek Road near the distillery, said smoke from the fire gave her watery eyes and a headache like no grass or forest fire smoke ever has.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_7cf2896e-cc6b-11...

Midtown gas explosion prompts evacuation of apartments

Photo by Wiley Price

Fire

Firemen work to put out a fire from a ruptured gas line at the corner of Enright and Clara in St. Louis Thursday afternoon. Photo by Wiley Price

Posted: Thursday, July 12, 2012 5:03 p

A gas explosion in midtown St. Louis Thursday afternoon, July 12 forced the evacuation of the St. Luke’s Apartments located at the intersection of Enright and Clara Ave., across from the Smiley Urgent Care Center at St. Louis ConnectCare.

The Fire Department spokesman said an Ameren crew was working on a gas leak when the line ignited and shot flames 30 feet high.

No injuries are reported. Thirty firefighters were on the scene and doused the adjacent apartment building with water as a precaution while the fire burned.

“The fire itself, having it burning like that, it’s not allowing the gas to move and accumulate in other areas, so now that it’s ignited, we are going to go ahead and let it continue to burn and protect the nearby properties,” said Captain Dan Sutter, public information officer for the St. Louis Fire Department.

Crews for Ameren are working to cut the gas main off to allow the fire to extinguish itself.

“My understanding is that they’ve got one more shut off over here nearby that they have a dig crew on and they have to dig for the main,” Sutter said. “And once they reach it, they’ll shut it off from there.”

Sutter said ConnectCare was far enough away that the fire did not pose a threat to it at this time.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_07_11/Gas-explosion-rocks-Ukraine-boost...

Gas explosion rocks Ukraine booster station

Jul 11, 2012 13:45 Moscow Time

A natural gas explosion occurred today at a gas compression station in Ukraine’s Kharkov region, local emergency office reports.

Seven gas station workers were injured as a result of this blast. They have been taken to the central district hospital.

The explosion took place at the Chervonodonetskaya natural gas booster station in the Ukrainian village of Kopanka, Balakleysky Region, at around 8:30 a.m. Moscow time, after repair works were concluded on the second machine.

No fire ensued. The machine wasn’t damaged by the blast. The explosion however tore down some equipment of the booster station and shattered the windows. The cause of the incident is being probed into.   

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/andhra-pradesh/article3588399.ece

Blasts, gas leak at pesticide plant

17 workers affected; condition of three critical at Vizag hospital

A major disaster was averted when explosions followed by a gas leak rocked a pesticide plant of Nagarjuna Agrichem Limited at Chilakalapalem, about 12 km from here, on Saturday.

Seventeen factory workers were affected, three of them critically.

The seriously injured were rushed to a corporate hospital in Visakhapatnam.

The blast occurred on the fifth floor of the building at about 9 a.m. when 300 workers on duty left their workplace during tea break.

It would have been major catastrophe had all the workers been inside at the time when fire engulfed the third, fourth and fifth floors. “The reactor could not absorb the pressure while preparing a chemical formulation -- Myco butanil -- for making a pesticide. There was a backfire leading to a massive explosion and fire,” Collector G. Venkatram Reddy told The Hindu. The explosion was so deafening that villagers in the vicinity ran for their lives. Panic-stricken villagers from Alinagaram, Chilakalapalem, Akkivalasa and Ravupalli complained of dizziness and nausea. All the educational institutions in the area were given a holiday.

“When I heard the deafening sound and saw glass partitions in our factory broken, I thought there was an earthquake,” said M. Srinivas, a technician of Sam Piston, a piston-making unit near Nagarjuna Agrichem Ltd. plant.

Tension gripped the area as the management was tight-lipped about the cause of the accident.

Attempts to extinguish the fire were hampered by lack of proper equipment. Fire engines with hydraulic platform and foam arrived from Visakhapatnam only at 1.30 p.m.

Joint Chief Inspector of Factories D. Chandrasekhar Verma, said the solvents caught fire at a height of 29 metres as the reactor could not withstand the pressure outside. Sources said the safety mechanism at the factory failed to function after detecting the snag.

Meanwhile, the government ordered closure of the pesticide plant. The Collector said the company would be allowed to resume operations only after a detailed evaluation of its safety systems.

[Howard]

Gas Leak Explosion Causes Widespread Damage, Flattens Home, Kills Child - England (June 26) -

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/327422

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-18594635

The house in Buckley Street was destroyed and many other houses were damaged in the blast, which is thought to have been caused by a gas leak.

One man was pulled from the rubble and airlifted to Wythenshawe Hospital with serious burns.

Fire and rescue teams have been searching for casualties but it is now believed everyone is accounted for.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said it would remain at the scene until it and police confirmed they were not looking for anyone else.

Station manager Dean Nankivell said: "The scene down there is catastrophic. It's just a great big pile of bricks.

"Whatever has caused this has gone with some force. Gas is definitely a strong contender.

"If there is anybody in there, we will be there until we find them."

The fire service said more than 30 firefighters were at the scene in the aftermath, with extra teams drafted in from neighbouring Lancashire Fire Service.

The Urban Search and Rescue Team, some of whom have worked in Haiti, New Zealand and Japan, used three sniffer dogs to help in the operation.

A fire service helicopter with listening equipment was also called to the scene to try to detect if people were trapped in the rubble.

National Grid said there was a report of a "gas escape" at 10:40 BST.

The company issued a statement saying: "National Grid can confirm that it received a report of a smell of gas in the Edmund Street and Buckley Street area of Shaw at 10.40am today.

"This was shortly followed by another call to report that there had been an explosion.

People who have had to leave their homes in and around Buckley Street have gathered at an evacuation centre set up by Oldham council at Crompton House school, about a mile from the scene of the explosion.

Some eat refreshments laid out on tables in the school's sports hall, others relax on comfortable chairs which have been laid out in a semi-circle. A few pace up and down outside the building clutching phones to their ears.

The council does not expect to have to provide overnight accommodation here. Residents of homes towards the edge of the police cordon will be able to return this evening. Those who live closer to the scene of the blast will stay with friends, or spend the night at a B&B.

Some of the school's staff have stayed behind to help out. There is a real sense of community spirit.

Many of the people here are concerned about the unknown extent of damage to their homes, but there is also great sorrow about the death of a child.

"Engineers arrived on site to find that five properties - seven to 13 Buckley Street - had been badly damaged."

One hundred homes were evacuated and Oldham Council set up a rest centre at Crompton House School in Rochdale Road for residents removed from their homes.

Councillor Jean Stretton, who is helping to co-ordinate facilities for residents, said there was a "blitz spirit" at the centre.

"There is a mix of people who are quite subdued because of the shock of what has happened here today, but there is also a lot of community spirit going on," she said.

"We've had a lot of support from the local community with people coming and bringing donations of clothes and baby chairs. The local stores have brought things like food and nappies and water, there has been a fantastic response."

Earlier, Supt Neil Evans, of GMP, said: "What I am now able to confirm is that there has been at least one fatality.

"That is believed to be a young child from one of the addresses and the next of kin has been informed."

Police had said another person was trapped in the debris, but later confirmed that person had been accounted for.

The man who was taken to hospital was initially believed to have been suffering 80% burns, but the North West Ambulance Service later said he was suffering about 25-30% burns.

Mr Nankivell, who is also head of the fire service's Urban Search and Rescue Team, said structures damaged in the blast had to be stabilised to make the area safe enough for investigators to go in.

Alex Perkins, who lives across the road, said: "It's like a war zone - tiles that have blown off literally across the streets, there's just debris everywhere. It's mad.

Tim Eyre, eyewitness: ''It was mayhem''

"It's just empty, there's nothing there, just bricks on the floor, just rubble."

Georgian Ulla, who also lives on the street, said her house "shook like it was an earthquake".

"All the lights shook - I thought someone was breaking in to begin with," she said.

"First thing that I saw was all the toys on the floor. Apparently there are kids that live in the house."

Ashfaq Hussein, whose father is the landlord of the house where the explosion took place, said: "We are absolutely shocked."

He said the man who suffered the serious burns and his partner were due to get married soon.

Shaw ward councillor Mark Alcock, who lives a quarter of a mile away, described the scene as "utter carnage".

"An end-terrace house has been completely flattened and properties up to 800m away have had their windows blown in," he said.

"It's a real mess."

Peter Travis, who works nearby, said: "I heard the loudest bang you could ever hear, then I could see bits of slate going through the air like ticker tape.

"Bits of slate were landing near us about 250 metres away.

"I could then hear alarms going off and then a silence, it was absolutely frightening."

Craig Needham who runs a nearby garage, said staff ran outside when they heard the explosion.

"We could just see a black plume, we thought a bomb had dropped," he said.

Adam Pollard, 21, was due to move in to a property around the corner from Buckley Street and was gathering belongings at his mother's house nearby when he heard the explosion.

"It was the biggest bang I have ever heard, all the windows shook," he said.

"I could see the smoke and came running up towards my flat.

"I got to the street and the three houses that had been there were just rubble, basically.

"I was worried if someone was trapped. I went running on to the rubble, shouting to see if anyone was injured. I couldn't see anyone and there was no fire, just smoke in the air.

"There was a weird smell, not of gas, like a burning smell."

He added: "I can't believe somebody has even been found alive in there.

"The house must have been completely filled with gas."

[Howard]

Although sawdust ignition was the Establishment's promulgated "suspected cause" of the tragic sawmill explosion in Prince George BC this April, soil tests have revealed high levels of methane gas and the sawmill has been closed indefinitely.

http://www.theprovince.com/High+methane+levels+shut+down+Prince+Geo...

High Methane Gas Levels Shut Down Prince George Sawmill Where Blast Occurred (June 22) -

A sawmill where an explosion killed two workers and injured two dozen others in April has been shut down indefinitely after soil tests revealed high levels of methane gas.

Lakeland Mills spokesman Greg Stewart said Friday that company tests detected the methane and prompted a shutdown of the recently reopened planer mill and closure of the mill energy system, which provides heat to some area businesses.

Twenty-eight planer mill employees, who have only been back to their jobs since late May following the blast on April 24, are out of work again, he said.

Stewart said the company had been conducting soil and air tests since the explosion, and that no methane has been discovered in air samples.

“We believe it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he said. “We are acting now to ensure the safety of our employees and will be conducting further tests in the coming week to understand how these findings will apply to our property.”

Stewart said Prince George city and fire department officials say the methane discovery did not pose a danger to people working or living nearby.

The Lakeland sawmill explosion and a blast in January at the Babine Forest Products sawmill in Burns Lake have been the subject of intense investigations, but their causes have not been determined.

Two workers and about a dozen others were injured in the Burns Lake incident.

The B.C. government ordered all sawmills in the province to undergo extensive dust cleanups after speculation arose that fine dust associated with milling pine beetle-killed wood could be explosive.

[astrogal50]

What used to be uncommon is now an almost regular occurrence.  If we, the public, knew about every single such explosion, it would likely be frequent.

One Dead in Gas Tank Explosion South of Downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A gas tank exploded in an industrial area south of downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, killing one person and injuring three others, authorities said. Investigators were trying to determine what was going on at the site.

The gas cylinder exploded in a building tucked behind a meat market and a bakery at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Mario Rueda, deputy captain of the LA fire department....  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-14/blast-downtown...

[Kojima]

* Natural gas explosion damages S.D. house

By Associated Press  Devils Lake Journal

Posted Jun 04, 2012 @ 04:30 PM

Devils Lake, ND —

MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) — A natural gas explosion damaged a Mitchell home and rattled windows throughout the neighborhood.
Mitchell public safety chief Lyndon Overweg says the person who rented the house wasn't there at the time. No one was reported injured.
The blast moved the walls of the home and knocked its front porch away from its main structure. Overweg says there was "significant structural damage" to the home.
Next-door neighbor Kayla Fluth says she was sleeping on her couch when the explosion happened just after 6 p.m. Sunday.
Fluth says her own home "shook like something fell on it."
It's the third natural gas explosion in Mitchell since 2007.
The NorthWestern Energy utility will be drilling holes in the ground Monday to check for gas accumulations.

* Cause Of House Explosion Under Investigation

By Peggy Moyer

Published: June 4, 2012, 1:21 PM

MITCHELL, SD - Fire investigators are searching for clues as to what caused a natural gas explosion at a house in Mitchell. It happened at 800 W. 2nd Street just after 6 p.m.

The Mitchell Director of Public Safety says the home has major damage.  There is a crack in the foundation, windows are blown out and the front porch and an addition on the back of the house are partially blown off.

Two people living in the house were not home when the explosion happened. Firefighters evacuated the neighborhood, including a mother and children next door.  Fire crews told her to get out and go at least a block down the street to safety.

This is the third house explosion in Mitchell over the past five years.

We'll talk with officials with Northwestern Energy about Sunday night's blast tonight on KELOLAND News.

* KELOLAND TV

[KM]

House explosion injures 6 in Wisconsin

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 11:26 PM EDT, Sat May 26, 2012

Debris lies scattered after a house in suburban Milwaukee exploded on Saturday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A firefighter and police officer are among the injured
• Two residents and a neighbor and a passerby who came to their aid were also hurt
• Video from the scene shows firefighters dousing the debris with water
• The cause of the blast is not clear, fires department spokeswoman says

(CNN) -- A house explosion in a northern suburb of Milwaukee on Saturday injured six people, including a firefighter and a police officer, fire officials said.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear, but is under investigation, said Kerry Wenzel, a spokeswoman with the North Shore Fire Department.

Video from CNN affiliate WISN showed a gaping hole where a house once stood, as firefighters doused the debris with water.

Fire Chief Robert Whitaker said three structures were involved in the incident -- the house that was destroyed and those on either side of it.

Among the injured were two residents, a neighbor and a passerby, both of whom tried to assist those inside, he said.

The injured police officer was treated for smoke inhalation, while the firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, the chief said.