Ridgefield home explosion seriously injures New Jersey homeowner

Home explosions occur far too frequently in the United States. Headlines referencing a home explosion can be found almost daily.

Set a Google alert for “home explosion,” and your inbox will be inundated with updates.

Here is a look at two home explosions that occurred Monday:

Ridgefield home explosion
seriously injures homeowner

From News 12 New Jersey: A New Jersey man was hospitalized Monday after being pulled from the rubble of his Ridgefield home explosion.

Officials said the Ridgefield home explosion leveled the man’s Abbot Avenue home at about 11:30 a.m. The Ridgefield home explosion sent debris flying within a three-block radius.

Hagob Cigerciogle, an off-duty police officer, was the first person to arrive at the scene of the Ridgefield home explosion. Cigerciogle said he and several other police officers heard the homeowner’s moans coming from inside the rubble.

“All of the officers were able to lift this plank of wood up where we were able to see him underneath,” Cigerciogle said. “We were able to take some wood out to make a big enough hole where he crawled out, and several officers and I helped him get out of the house.”

Ridgefield home explosion:
Man in serious condition

According to neighbors, the homeowner suffered severe burns and is not doing well. Police, however, would not confirm his condition.

Neighbors told News 12 New Jersey that the 50-year-old homeowner lives alone and suffered burns and a laceration before being taken to the hospital. Said one neighbor, Lisa Calabria: “There was a big boom and I thought something dropped on top of my house, a plane or I didn’t know what it was, but it was so loud.”

Calabria said debris produced by the explosion landed on her home and new car.

Ridgefield home explosion:
Investigation continues

Officials said they are still investigating the cause of the Ridgefield home explosion. They confirmed that there was a gas leak, although they said they are uncertain if the leak occurred before or after the fire.

Union City home explosion
puts homeowner in peril

From SFGate.com: A Union City gas explosion “basically” blew the roof off a home, according to an Alameda County Fire Department division chief. Union City is about 19 miles from Oakland down the San Francisco Bay.

Chief Alan Evans said firefighters got called at 8:03 p.m. to a medical situation at 32436 Elizabeth Way. While first-responders were en route, they received an update, and the fire captain said he determined that an explosion had occurred.

When those first-responders arrived, they found a man with serious burn injuries. He is now in the hospital fighting for his life.

Four other people were in the home at the time of the explosion; one of them suffered minor injuries. Evans said the home sustained major damage and likely will be marked uninhabitable at least until repairs are made. “It was a massive explosion,” Evans said.

Evans said the explosion blew out exterior windows, and blew sheetrock off walls and ceilings. Some exterior walls are bowing out, Evans said. Interior doors were blown off the doorjambs.

The explosion was so large, Evans said, that nothing caught fire.

The blast was sparked by a 3.5-gallon container of refrigerant inside the home that found an ignition source, Evans said. The refrigerant contained butane. He said firefighters know only that gas was coming out of the container, but not why it was leaking.

Evans said it’s not normal to have these containers inside a home. He compared them to propane tanks for barbecue grills, which are typically 5 gallons in size.

Evans said both Union City police and the bomb squad from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department responded. He doesn’t believe police found anything criminal.

The bomb squad removed the containers from the home.

The family is going to live in a recreational vehicle on the property for now, Evans said.