Baltimore County homeowner charged with arson for July explosion that rocked community
A Baltimore County man was arrested for allegedly causing a massive explosion at his property in July, according to investigators. There were no injuries.
Mark Hawkins, 66, is facing first-degree arson charges in connection with a July 1 explosion in the 8100 block of Callo Lane in a Rosedale subdivision.
A neighbor had told WJZ that the homeowners were on vacation in Jamaica during the explosion.
Hawkins is being held without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center.
What caused the explosion?
Investigators said natural gas was flowing into the house for 18 hours before the house exploded, and by that time, the homeowner was already out of the country.
According to charging documents, investigators learned that Hawkins and his wife had left on a one-way ticket to Jamaica the previous morning.
The natural gas supply line for Hawkins's basement water heater was manually cut, and an electric range upstairs was left on, investigators said.
Neighbors said the alleged arson could have done a lot of harm.
"All the debris flew into everybody's yards," neighbor Paul Castagna. "If it was in the middle of the day, it could have hurt a lot of people."
"Almost like a war zone"
The powerful explosion rocked the Rosedale subdivision, which backs up to the northbound lanes of Interstate 95.
WJZ obtained video that shows flames tearing through the house around 2 a.m.
"A big fireball. I mean, it was like nothing I've ever seen before, almost like a war zone," neighbor Charles Pulliam told WJZ.
Pulliam shared a video of himself knocking on his neighbors' doors as he desperately tried to wake them and warn them of the danger.
"I was in shock," Pulliam said. "I didn't know if it was some kind of terror attack or actually what might have been going on."
The video shows huge flames blasting into the sky.
Neighbors described the explosion as being so powerful that it left a shoe on the neighbor's roof and a mattress in their driveway. Pulliam said it blew the bumpers off a neighbor's truck.
"It was one really big explosion, then a few smaller ones right behind it, but one that was extremely loud and then pop, pop, pop, pop," Pulliam said.
Dispatch calls from the explosion
WJZ Investigates reviewed the initial dispatch calls from first responders.
"First call described it as an explosion, and the second caller said that the house possibly exploded," one responder said. "I have a house that is completely exploded. We've got fire showing."
Another described the house as "completely on the ground. It's gonna be a defensive operation. Could you go ahead and put a [untelligible] BG&E? Sounds like we may have a gas-fed fire."