KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Around 6 a.m. Monday, Kansas City Fire crews were called to a home in the 11700 block of Jefferson Street on a possible explosion.
The woman who lives in the home with her family said she heard a loud boom.
She saw flames shooting up when she looked out the window of her bedroom in the back of the house.
The family of five escaped safely.
Neighbors said they heard the noise too.
“I was laying in bed and all, then I heard a boom like thunder, sounded like a rain storm all the sudden,” said Eddie Cummins, who lives a few doors down.
Cummins went outside to see what was going on and was shocked to see his neighbor’s home on fire. He described flames shooting 20 feet above the house.
“After that boom, I didn’t know what blew up and you just heard the fire shooting up the house there,” said Cummins.
The noise woke up Larry Engel too.
“Heard a roar, couldn’t figure out what it was,” said Engel, who lives across the street.
The couple that lives in the home ran to Engel’s house with their three young children.
“They came over and sat on our porch for a while,” said Engel.
Fire crews quickly arrived and knocked down the flames.
The exact cause of the fire is still unclear.
“You heard about the gas things and that’s the first thing you think about, but the house is intact so I guess it wasn’t that,” said Cummins.
Neighbors said the homeowner thought it may have been caused by his new air conditioning unit.
“That was the only thing in that area that had any power to it, so that’s why he was suspecting it,” said Engel.
But right now, the Kansas City Fire Department believes a grill on the deck may be to blame.
The family is safe and staying with parents who live nearby.
