Video captures massive explosions that destroyed Dartmouth, Massachusetts home
The bomb squad is helping investigate a fire at a home in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The flames may have been started by an explosion, as several blasts were captured on the surveillance camera of a nearby home. Some neighbors said they saw fireworks shooting into their yards after the explosion.
It happened around 1 a.m. Tuesday on Sagamore Drive. When firefighters arrived, they found the garage fully engulfed in flames.
One person suffered burns and was treated at an area hospital, Dartmouth Fire Chief Timothy Lancaster said. The person's condition is not known at this time. No firefighters were hurt while knocking down the flames.
"Like a bomb going off"
Neighbor Cheryl Nye, who lives several houses down, shared Ring camera footage that shows the moment the fire started. The video shows the neighborhood lighting up as several loud explosions can be heard.
"It sounded like a bomb going off," said neighbor John Bettencourt. "Like three times."
Video from the WBZ-TV helicopter taken during the daylight shows that the garage was completely destroyed. Several damaged cars and a boat with heavy flame damage could also be seen in the area of where the garage once stood.
The home is considered a total loss. Officials said one dog died in the fire.
Lancaster said the Fire Marshal's office requested for the bomb squad to come to the home and check the contents of the garage.
The fire also damaged a home next door.
As for the cause, Lancaster said "anything is possible right now."
Neighbors say it sounded like fireworks
Investigators are not saying what started the fire, but neighbors say it sounded like fireworks.
"A firework shot across the back of my yard," said Ed Rouxinol who lives two doors down. He said the owner of the home has been known to use fireworks before.
"The guy has had fireworks displays over the course of the years. It's all fun and games when you are going outside and looking at them... but to think he had been storing that stuff in his house, that has potential for a much, much more serious problem."
The homeowners returned in the afternoon but declined comment.
A spokesperson for the Fire Marshal's office said that bomb squad and hazmat teams are normally called in to bring "expertise to calls that may involve certain reactive or energetic substances."
No further details on the fire are currently available.