Explosion levels Hazel Crest home

HAZEL CREST, Ill. (WLS) -- A house explosion in south suburban Hazel Crest leveled a home and sent debris flying onto nearby roofs, officials said.

The explosion occurred near Orchard Ridge Avenue and 169th Street around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

"My grandson, he was in the bed sleeping and I was just sitting then he yelled, 'Grandma did you hear that?' It sounded like a loud explosion or something. We didn't know what it was," neighbor Odean Johnson said.

"I heard this loud boom, and it was kind of like, I didn't know what was going on," neighbor Steven Phillips said. "I thought maybe a lightning strike or something."

The noise came from a house explosion. Outside, the home was still standing. Inside, fire officials told neighbors there was a strong smell of gas. Thankfully, the home was vacant and the threat to neighboring homes was contained. Residents and village leaders say it could have been worse.

"It would've been catastrophic if someone was inside, and luckily the neighbor who lived there had moved out nearly a month earlier," said neighbor Patrick Peterson. "But had they come by and picked things up along the way... so this still could've been catastrophic in our community."

Because of structural damage, village leaders ordered the home to come down for safety reasons. As many came out to look at what was left of the house, they were relieved it was isolated.

"When someone says explosion, you think two or three homes, you think, or three houses are taken out, but I was already feeling better because there was no injuries and no deaths," said Village President Vernard Alsberry.

A spokesperson with Nicor Gas says they did not find any gas leak from their lines, which leaves the question of what happened still lingering.

Some of the debris from the explosion ended up on the neighbor's roof, That family had to move out and stay with friends while the debris gets cleaned up. In the meantime, the investigation into a cause continues.