House explosion causes fire near 32nd St and Lincoln

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Fire Department says a house caught fire after a possible explosion near 32nd Street and Lincoln Drive Saturday afternoon.

Smoke could be seen for miles, as more than 100 firefighters rushed to the scene and doused water on the raging flames.

Phoenix Fire tells ABC15 the three-story home is a total loss.

This fire happened just before 5 p.m. Roughly three miles away at the time, Amanda Adler and Keenan Perdrizet still felt the explosion.

“It was a pretty big boom,” said Perdrizet.

“It just sounded like a bomb. It scared me,” added Adler.

Perdrizet says it came out of nowhere.

“Suddenly this huge bang. You could almost feel it, and it was kind of crazy. Everyone just stopped,” he said.

“And then it was actually a white plume that came up, and then it started doing the darker [smoke],” Adler told ABC15.

Captain Evan Gammage with the Phoenix Fire Department says firefighters took at least four hours to contain the fire, even evacuating several homes in the area.

“There was no one home at the time,” the Captain added.

Although no injuries have been reported, several homes were damaged.

Gammage says at least nine homes had some level of damage including broken glass due to the explosion.

Phoenix fire says the fire was contained to the home where the explosion happened, adding there was a propane tank inside that house.

As for the cause of the explosion:

“No idea thus far as to what caused it,” said Cpt. Gammage.

Fire crews are expected to be on scene for the next few hours, checking all hotspots. Traffic will be limited through the neighborhood.

The investigation remains ongoing.