Two people were killed and hundreds were displaced Saturday night when a powerful explosion leveled two homes and sparked an extra-alarm fire on the south side of Indianapolis, a fire department spokeswoman said.
Two homes exploded just after 11 p.m. Saturday, sparking fires in two others and damaging at least two dozen homes, said Lt. Bonnie Hensley, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Fire Department.
"It looks like a war zone here right now," Hensley said.
Fire officials confirmed two fatalities early Sunday morning, and two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Hensley said.
It was not immediately clear whether anyone else was missing, but officials combed the area three separate times before calling off their search efforts until daylight, Hensley said.
Officials evacuated about 200 people to a nearby elementary school, where the Red Cross was sheltering about 20 of them there for the night. Others spent the night in the homes of friends of family, and officials planned to take the remainder to the Southport Presbyterian Church.
Firefighters had brought the fire under control by 12:30 a.m. Sunday but were still putting out hotspots afterward, Hensley said.The explosion happened near the intersection of South Stop 11 Road and South Sherman Drive, said Capt. Rita Burris, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Fire Department.
From his bedroom a block away, 47-year-old software engineer Chris Patterson felt the walls of his home shake. The force of the explosion shattered a glass sliding door in his home, he said.
"It felt like something had hit our house,” Patterson said.
Patterson and his wife stepped outside, where they found other neighbors in the street and an orange glow in the distance.
Police came by soon after to evacuate them to the elementary school staging area. There, after checking in with authorities, stunned neighbors sat on bleachers and waited for more information.
"You had a bunch of sleepy kids and nervous-looking parents," Patterson said.
Patterson and his wife ultimately spent the night at his mother's home.
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asege@tribune.com
Twitter: @AdamSege
Fire official: At least one dead in Indianapolis blast
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Fire official: At least one dead in Indianapolis blast
