Hollywood Heights, IL- Three dogs thought to have died in a house explosion Saturday evening in Hollywood Heights, Illinois, were rescued from the rubble Sunday evening.
According to the Hollywood Heights Fire Department, the explosion occurred on the 40 block of Edgewood Lane. The cause of the explosion is believed to be natural gas leak.
No one was injured in the explosion.
“The owner was not home and he lives by himself,” Hollywood Heights Fire Chief Buddy Moore said Saturday evening. “But there were 2 or 3 dogs in there and we never found them. And the house is too shaky. He said they were in the basement and I ain’t sending no firemen into the basement. It’s too late anyway.”
Herb Simmons, a Spokesperson for St Clair County Emergency Management, says the dogs were rescued just before 5 p.m. Sunday. He says neighbors heard barking coming from the rubble and called the fire department.
Crews used a backhoe to dig through the rubble and discovered the dogs still in their cages in the basement. One of the cages had been smashed from the debris, but Simmons says rescuers cut the cage open and the dog is ok.
Before the explosion, there were four dogs in cages. Simmons says three of the dogs were rescued and the other dog ran away.
Parts of the house were scattered across the neighborhood, and witnesses told NewsChannel 5 there was a large fire that took almost three dozen fire fighters to extinguish. Several regional Fire Departments were on hand to battle the fire.
“It was loud. I mean it was loud,” said neighbor Darlene Jones. “It shook everybody’s house down the road. I have glass and debris in my front yard.”