Moment Chicago home suddenly explodes, killing one — as terrified kids flee fire, wild video shows
A suburban Chicago home suddenly exploded on Tuesday evening, killing one person — just as two children were playing outside the house next door, harrowing footage shows.
A neighbor’s security camera captured the moment two kids were playing basketball in the driveway of a Lake Zurich home on North Overhill Road when the house next door erupted in a fiery explosion, NBC 5 reports.
The blast immediately caused the boy closest to the home to fall to his feet as the other dashed away.
The kid on the ground is then seen desperately backing away from the blaze before he’s able to get up and run away.
One person off-camera could be heard shouting, “Call 911!”
Ulises Hernandez, whose camera captured the explosion, said he was watching TV with his wife while his son, Emanuel, was playing outside when the incident occurred.
“We heard a loud boom, and it shook the house,” he told the local outlet. “We panicked.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the explosion left the home “completely leveled,” with officials confirming that the body of an adult man had been recovered from the debris.
While officials did not immediately identify the victim, neighbors said the home belonged to a 77-year-old man who lived alone.
“He’s retired,” neighbor Tiffany Koch told ABC 7. “But really, he was kind of a loner. He was kind of all to himself.”
No other neighbors or firefighters were injured as a result of the explosion and subsequent fire.
Lake County officials and the Illinois State Fire Marshal said the cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
