ANNAPOLIS, Md. — One person is dead and another was critically injured Wednesday after a house explosion near Annapolis.
At 12:17 p.m., several 911 calls came in reporting the explosion in the 1100 block of Green Holly Drive in the Cape St. Claire area, with callers stating there was "massive damage."
Firefighters with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department arrived at 12:22 p.m. and found a two-story structure that had collapsed from "some type of explosion."
Anne Arundel County Assistant Fire Chief Lawrence Schultz confirmed that there was no fire present when fire crews arrived, but significant damage extended about half a block up the street from the scene.
Assistant Fire Chief Schultz said neighbors extricated one person who was outside the home. The victim, a female, was in cardiac arrest. Medics and fire personnel treated the victim for a significant period of time; however, she was later pronounced dead.
A male victim, who suffered significant burns, was found inside the home and has since been removed. Assistant Fire Chief Schultz said he was transported by air to a burn center for treatment.
An Anne Arundel County Police officer suffered a leg injury while working the scene, and one resident was evaluated for heat exhaustion.
Both victims lived inside the home, according to Assistant Fire Chief Schultz.
Fire personnel are now working to find the source of the explosion. Reports indicate that about an hour before the explosion, a vendor was there to resupply the house with propane.
Assistant Fire Chief Schultz said it is not known at this time if the propane is related to the explosion, adding that the vendor came, resupplied the home, and left.
Neighbors reported to the fire department that the male victim was out back "doing homeowner-type stuff" when they heard the explosion, according to Assistant Fire Chief Schultz.
It is not known what the male was doing at the time, but there is no reason to believe anything he was doing contributed to the explosion.
Currently, according to Assistant Fire Chief Schultz, the goal is to find the propane tank and secure it so fire crews can conduct a secondary search of the structure, which has significantly compromised integrity.
A USAR dog has also been requested to conduct a surface search to determine if anyone else was present inside the home at the time of the explosion.
Once that is completed, Anne Arundel County Fire Special Operations Teams will secure the home so they can dig into the collapsed debris to ensure nobody else is in the home.
Assistant Fire Chief Schultz asked the community not to come to the site while propane readings are still present.
Private drone operators are also asked not to operate drones in the area as the airspace is needed for police and ATF operations.
Surrounding neighbors were evacuated from their homes, which suffered little to no damage, Assistant Fire Chief Schultz said.
At this time, Green Holly Drive between Ramblewood Drive and Rolling View Drive remains closed as the investigation continues.
The scene is expected to remain active.
