Athens, TX – No one was injured when a house exploded outside of Athens on Saturday, but the residence was a total loss.
Henderson County 9-1-1 received the call at about 8:20 a.m., reporting that the house on County Road 2494 exploded. The woman who contacted 9-1-1 told authorities she heard a “big boom,” then saw debris blowing around. The man who lived at the location had left to go to the store shortly before the blast.
The Athens Fire Department responded to the scene with the Quint ladder unit and another fire engine. Fire Chief John McQeary turned the scene over to the Henderson County Fire Marshal for investigation, because it was outside of the Athens City Limits.
Fire Marshal Shane Renberg said propane that had collected under the house fueled the blast, but the ignition source that touched off the explosion was unknown.
Because the ruins of the house are unsafe to enter, Renberg said his office would leave that determination up to the insurance investigators. Renberg said the cause of the fire was not suspicious, because of the propane gas that had collected under the pier and beam structure.
“Propane is heavier than air, and there’s no telling how long it had been collecting under the house,” Renberg said.