ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A woman is dead and a man 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."
Fatal house explosion rocks neighborhood near Annapolis, one dead
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 the woman, identified as 76-year-old Linda Synowczynski, who was outside the home. Synowczynski was in cardiac arrest. Medics and fire personnel treated her for a significant period of time; however, she was later pronounced dead.
The man, 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 the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical 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. Anne Arundel County Fire reports a gas company was on-site filling a propane tank just one hour before the explosion occurred. Investigators are working to contact that gas company for more information.
Assistant Fire Chief Schultz said on Wednesday that 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 man was out back "doing homeowner-type stuff" when they heard the explosion, according to Assistant Fire Chief Schultz.
It is not known what he 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, but have since been allowed to re-enter their homes.
Portions of Green Holly Drive remain closed as the investigation into the explosion remains ongoing.
Authorities say there is no threat to the community and the scene is expected to remain active.