A neighbor rushed into the debris of a demolished home Thursday night to help rescue an injured woman just moments before flames engulfed the wreckage following a powerful explosion that shook the Lake Dallas neighborhood.
Jacob Sahl had just returned from work and was sitting on his couch when the blast rocked the 600 block of Moseley Street around 7 p.m.
“It sounded like a bomb,” Sahl said, CBS News Texas reported. “I go outside, and I see my neighbor, and I’m like, ‘What happened?’ and she’s like, ‘My neighbor’s house blew up.’”
Living two houses away, Sahl ran to the scene and found the house already flattened. As he and others moved closer, they heard cries from inside the rubble. They lifted doors and pieces of the roof until they reached the woman, then dragged her to the street.
“As soon as we got her to the street, the whole house just went,” he said.
The woman appeared to have suffered serious injuries, including broken bones and burns, but remained conscious and spoke to rescuers. She contacted family members before being taken to a hospital; her condition was not immediately known on Friday morning. Her dog also escaped unharmed.
Lake Dallas firefighters, with assistance from Highland Village and Lewisville fire departments, expanded the perimeter and evacuated nearby homes as a precaution. Roads around Moseley Street stayed closed on Friday while crews worked with Atmos Energy to secure the area. Natural gas service to the neighborhood was shut off.
Authorities have not determined the cause but are examining whether a natural gas leak played a role. Atmos Energy said its technicians responded around 7:45 p.m. and coordinated with the Lake Dallas Fire Department throughout the night. The company reported no confirmed link to two recent natural gas line strikes elsewhere in town that had prompted earlier evacuations.
Sahl said he initially smelled burning materials rather than gas. Other residents described the force of the blast.
“It felt like an airplane hit my house,” one neighbor said, per CBS.
Another, Thomas Morales, recalled a sharp sound and violent shaking.
“It was like a ‘poom,’ like when a balloon pops. Like that. But hearing it was not compared to the feeling. I mean I was laying down and it shook the whole house. I thought our house was going to collapse,” Morales said, NBC 5 DFW reported.
The investigation remains active, with crews still on the scene on Friday.
