Albemarle home destroyed in possible gas explosion, woman dead

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A gas explosion has been cited as the possible cause of a fire that destroyed an Albemarle home and resulted in a woman's death on Tuesday.

Crews with Albemarle County Fire Rescue responded to multiple reports of a home explosion at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19.

When they arrived around four minutes later, they found a home in the 2300 block of Ferndown Lane that had been "completely leveled to the ground."

In the afternoon on Wednesday, Aug. 20, Dan Eggleston, chief of Albemarle County Fire Rescue, hosted a press conference where he provided additional details about the explosion.

(Photo: James Sizemore)

(Photo: James Sizemore)

(Photo: James Sizemore)

(Photo: James Sizemore)

Eggleston said that a gas explosion is believed to be the root cause of this incident, but it was not sustained enough to keep burning -- as the fire was already out when crews arrived.

Twelve neighboring homes were damaged by the fire, and investigations into the status of the damage to these homes are ongoing, according to authorities.

Video shared with ABC and 8News by Brent Lillard shows a nearby home shaking at the moment of the explosion:

While the owners of the home destroyed in the explosion were not present at the time of the explosion, crews found a man with critical injuries and burns near a debris pile in the basement of the home. The man was taken to a local hospital and is still being treated as of the time of reporting.

Near the injured man, crews also found a woman at the scene who was pronounced dead.

Eggleston said that this incident is believed to be isolated, but officials will not know what happened until the investigation is completed. He urged homeowners to stay vigilant, and if they smell gas, they should call the police and leave their homes.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 20, fire crews were still in the area going through debris and providing aid to those impacted.

Residents who spoke to 8News crews at the conference said that they felt and heard the blast before the 911 call was received.

Additionally, Eggleston said that an occurrence like this is rare, as the infrastructure in the area is relatively new.

As part of the investigation, authorities are contacting surrounding neighbors about Ring camera video that might have captured the explosion.