House explosion. Photo courtesy John Castro
MADISON (WKOW) -- Investigators don't know yet if anyone was in a house that exploded Wednesday on Madison's southwest side.
City of Madison Fire Chief Steven Davis said the house at 7806 Stratton Way was destroyed.
"We had a pretty significant fire and a pretty significant area of debris," said Chief Davis.
Because of the size of the explosion scene, Davis said neighbors will not be able to return to their homes tonight.
"Because of the nature of the collapse, it's created a lot of void spaces down below, so the fire department will have a presence throughout the night here," said Chief Davis. "We've got our investigative teams together - they've come up with a plan - they have to work through the process of really piecing back together the house."
The American Red Cross is establishing a checkpoint at S. High Point Road and McKee Road, according to a news release. Neighborhood occupants with questions about accessing their homes should identify themselves at the American Red Cross checkpoint for further instruction.
The first firefighting units arrived at 2:04 p.m. and noted that the structure was a total loss, Davis said.
The fire department currently is in search and rescue mode and Davis said they don't know yet if anyone was in the house.
They were able to make contact late this afternoon with the homeowners, according to a fire department spokesperson.
One civilian from the block that was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries to the hospital
One civilian was injured, and a firefighter received minor injuries.
Corey Zeman, a neighbor, said he was napping at the time and that it was so loud that it sounded like a truck was going through his building.
Another witness reported that it "looks like it exploded with no standing structure."