Annapolis neighbors recall house-shaking explosion that killed woman, injured man
Neighbors near an Annapolis house explosion that left a woman dead and a man severely injured said the blast was unlike anything they had heard before.
Shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, crews responded to an explosion that collapsed a home on Green Holly Drive in the Cape St. Claire area.
A woman went into cardiac arrest following the explosion. Neighbors had begun performing CPR before firefighters arrived, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man suffered severe burns and was airlifted to a hospital, according to fire officials.
"You just heard this loud boom, not like a transformer. It was something I hadn't heard before," neighbor Cathy Meyer said. "I'm outside watching my house shake."
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department said investigators are looking into whether propane used inside the home may have contributed to the explosion. Anne Arundel County Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Larry Schultz said a vendor had been at the home about an hour before the blast to resupply propane.
CBS News Baltimore saw neighbors cleaning up glass that had littered their yards. Insulation was also seen hanging from trees about 30 feet above the ground, offering an indication of the force of the explosion.
Neighbors said the blast shook homes as far as two blocks away.
"She said the whole house shook," neighbor Patrick Murphy said. "She thought the roof collapsed or something. It knocked pictures off the wall. It was that forceful, and again, we're a good block and a half away."
"It's something you don't think will happen here, things that you only see on the news," neighbor Madison Drum added.
One neighbor told CBS News Baltimore that he has lived in the area for 10 years and said there have been propane-related problems at multiple homes.
Officials said they checked other homes in the neighborhood for propane levels and found no issues. Four neighboring homes were evacuated as a precaution.
"thoughts and prayers go out to the family," said neighbor Jeremy Ross. "(I) still don't know 100% what happened, but from the looks and sounds of it, it seems pretty bad."
