A New Jersey home explosion with six volunteer firefighters inside was caught on camera, but miraculously, they all survived. On January 15, police and firefighters were investigating smoke and a gas leak at the Pompton Lakes home around 2 am.
Plumes of black smoke could be seen coming out of the house, but there were no signs of flames. In the footage, a firefighter was seen on the porch just before the explosion occurred.
According to Pompton Lakes Fire Chief Jason Ekkers, a lieutenant and two volunteers entered the house and went into the basement, closely followed by the assistant fire chief and another two firefighters on the first floor. All six firefighters survived, but two were taken to the hospital for treatment of burns.
As the building exploded, all of the firefighters ended up in the basement, and were trapped under the fiery rubble. They managed to climb out of the basement with compromised stairs, and they helped each other out one at a time. Another two firefighters were standing by the door, and the explosion blew them away from the house.
In the moments after the explosion, police and fire crew rushed to assist from the back of the house, and someone could be heard on the radio calling for medics. Photos of the house taken later in the morning showed the entire structure collapsed.
Fire officials said the assistant fire chief had burns to his ears because his hood blew off, and the lieutenant suffered third-degree burns to his hands. The cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed by the fire department.
The home on Ramapo Avenue belonged to Tom Garett, who managed to escape before the arrival of the firefighters and the explosion but lost everything in the process. A GoFundMe was set up by his niece Amy Glazar Azcurra, which raised over $11,000 for him since the incident in mid-January.
»Horrifying moment a New Jersey home exploded with six volunteer firefighters inside after gas leak«
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