LACKAWANNA, N.Y. — A 92-year old New York woman was killed when her home exploded Tuesday morning, authorities said.
According to the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office, Irene Sanok was pronounced dead at the scene in Lackawanna, WKBW reported.
Seven other homes were damaged after the explosion, Lackawanna Fire Chief James Fino told WGRZ.
It is unclear what caused the explosion, WIVB reported. Investigators said it might take several days to determine the cause, the television station reported.
Fire officials in Lackawanna said crews responded to the home at around 7:20 a.m., WKBW reported. Firefighters found the home destroyed and a large debris field, the television station reported.
Fire was coming from the home’s foundation, firefighters said.
Michael Salamone, who lives across the street from the house that exploded, saw what happened.
“I got my coffee, walked to the front window as usual, and then everything went white,” Salamone told WGRZ. “When the debris stopped falling, and the smoke cleared, I could see that the house across the street was leveled.”
Salamone is a volunteer reserve firefighter, the television station reported. He said he grabbed a fire extinguisher and went to check if anyone was at the home and also checked at his neighbors’ homes.
Another neighbor, Kayleigh Migheles, told WGRZ she was sleeping when the explosion happened. When she looked out of her window, she saw a mattress on the roof of a neighboring home.
“I don’t know why, but that was so scary to me, because it was immediately after the explosion that we looked over and the mattress was on the roof,” Migheles told the television station. “That was something I had never seen before.”
Nearly 600 people in the surrounding area lost power because of the explosion, WGRZ reported. By 9 a.m., power was restored at many of the homes that were affected, WKBW reported.