AMERICAN FORK, Utah — One woman died after a large explosion at a home in American Fork early Wednesday morning.
The explosion was reported just before 6 a.m. at a duplex near 70 N. 370 East. It was part of a senior living community called Chipman Village.
Drone video below shows size of devastation following house explosion:
Firefighters were able to get her out of the house and attempt lifesaving measures, but she passed away. Her identity has not yet been released.
Another woman survived the explosion and was able to self-evacuate. Officials said she was on the side where the explosion occurred, while the victim who died was in the other half of the duplex.
"I honestly do not know how anyone survived what we are seeing here," said American Fork Fire Batallion Chief Brandon Boshard. "That’s a little bit of a miracle in my mind. I don’t understand how anyone survived this."
A dog was also found hours after the explosion, apparently able to escape from the home, but officials said it was in good condition and was transported to a veterinarian to be checked.
Neighbor Jim Hopkinson found the surviving woman standing in the cul-de-sac.
"Over and over she was saying, ‘my house blew up. My house blew up,'" he described.
VIDEO: Security camera footage shows massive explosion in American Fork neighborhood
According to the survivor’s granddaughter, Dominion Energy crews were at the home the day before the explosion. Her family says the company was there to fix a part of the gas meter that had eroded because of age.
Dominion Energy told FOX 13 News that they were in the area “completing routine maintenance.” A company spokesperson says they’re gathering information, and they're "deeply saddened at the tragic loss of life and send our condolences to the family impacted."
Boshard said Dominion was on site Wednesday to check other homes in the vicinity, and "they have deemed there is not an issue."
[I'm] sorry that we lost a neighbor, and just hope I can be of some help," Hopkinson said. "
And he has been helpful. When he spoke to FOX 13 News at 11 a.m., he already had more than 8,000 steps just from walking around and making sure all the neighbors were OK.
Building officials with the city of American Fork also checked the homes around the explosion site. The only structure deemed uninhabitable is one house next door to the explosion.
Security camera footage from FOX 13 viewer Ashlee Vance showed an otherwise peaceful morning when suddenly the sky illuminates with light and a loud boom is heard. The noise set off car alarms in the area, sending residents outside to see what happened.
Another FOX 13 viewer shared a view of the explosion moments after it happened, showing smoke filling the sky and first responders rushing to the area.
When firefighters arrived, they were met with the duplex on fire, large amount of debris and structural damage.
"It blew debris almost a half a mile away," Boshard explained. "Especially to the northeast, you can see there’s debris on roofs quite a distance away."
FOX 13 viewer Conrado Torres was nearby right after the explosion and captured the extensive damage to the duplex.
Once crews got the fire knocked down, firefighters were able to enter the structure and dig through debris, which is when they found the adult woman who did not survive.
The identity of the woman who died was not made available as officials work to notify her family of her death.
While the search through the debris is incomplete, Boshard is confident everyone has been accounted for in the duplex.
Building officials, engineers and utility crews are now working to make sure the building is safe so firefighters can continue to search through the debris.
"We still have a little bit of the area we need to search but we need to make it safe first," Boshard said.
Surrounding homes in the area also saw extensive damage as a result of the explosion, Boshard explained. Building experts are working to ensure the safety of all homes that were impacted.
Many details were not made immediately available by officials including what caused the explosion. An investigation is underway.
After getting word of the explosion, an "all call" went out to responders throughout the city, with nearly every resource rushing to the area to help as needed.
