House explodes as firefighters arrive on scene of gas leak call. Five injured in Poland, Ohio.

Image from video by William D. Lewis at Vindy.com.

Click here for video & interview with Chief David Comstock Jr.

Click here for the fireground audio from Ohio News Alerts

A house exploded this morning at 2816 Center Road in Poland, Ohio just as firefighters arrived for a reported gas leak and headed inside the home. Here are excerpts from a WYTV-TV article:

“We immediately had fire throughout the house, and within a very short period of time, the entire front of the house collapsed.”, says Fire Chief David Comstock, Jr., Western Reserve Joint Fire District.

When the first crews got on scene they opened the front door to the home and immediately smelled gas. That’s when they shut the door and say the home exploded, literally blowing firefighters away from the house and into the snow bank, trapping a few of them underneath the porch, which collapsed.

A handful of firefighters were taken to the hospital with minor injuries from battling the blaze, and being trapped under the debris. Chief Comstock says,

“Three were released, two are still being evaluated but they were very fortunate, I have to say the Lord was looking down on them, because it could have been very serious.”

Luckily, no one was inside the home when it blew up. Neighbors say the family who lived there had trouble with their furnace earlier in the week, and reported a possible gas leak to Dominion East Ohio. Apparently they had come back to check on their home right before it exploded.

Fire crews spent the rest of the morning dousing flames and smoke. The Chief says gas is the primary suspect, and the home is a total loss. The State Fire Marshal’s Office and local Metro Arson Strike Force continue to investigate.