Suspected gas leak blows house apart
Neighbours heard screaming as a central Auckland house was blown apart in an explosion yesterday morning.
Two people were burned in the blast at Mary Dreaver St in New Windsor. Police said a woman was taken to Middlemore Hospital in a serious condition, and a man with moderate injuries was taken to Auckland Hospital.
Nearby resident Hemant Parikh posted on Facebook that it sounded like a bomb had gone off about 6am.
‘‘Woken up by a big bang and hearing people screaming this morning,’’ Parikh said.
Dave Wood, senior station officer from Avondale fire station, said the force of the explosion ‘‘ripped the house apart’’.
‘‘It was quite a powerful explosion, and it blew the walls about 10 metres,’’ he said.
‘‘It blew the roof off the house and just engulfed the house in flames. We’ve got fire investigators coming to establish what might have caused that initial explosion.’’
Sixteen firefighters rushed to the scene, beating back flames and working to protect surrounding properties that were put at risk by the blaze.
Police also attended and set up a cordon around the house.
A handful of homes on Mulgan St, behind the fire, were temporarily evacuated.
Fire investigator Jason Goffin confirmed the fire was not being treated as suspicious.
It was possibly a gas leak, he said.
Another resident of Mary Dreaver St also said she woke up to an ‘‘unusually loud’’ bang.
Dianne Wright, who has lived on the street for almost 30 years, said her house shook about 6am and she thought someone was trying to break in. It was not until she saw fire engines go past that she realised the bang was related to a fire down the road.