A local resident has recalled the shocking moment that a house burst into flames in Bristol following a suspected gas explosion, describing the scene as “like an earthquake”.
Three people have been taken to hospital after reports of a gas explosion in Yate on Tuesday morning. The house was burnt almost completely to the ground during the blaze.
Around 40 people have been evacuated from the area, with a refuge centre set up nearby to the incident on Lancaster Road, Avon and Somerset Police said.
The three people taken to hospital are not believed to have suffered life threatening injuries.
A fourth person was treated by ambulance services at the scene, according to Avon fire services.
One man who lives in the area of the explosion said he heard people ran into the building.
The man, who asked not to be named, said: “The flames were shooting into the sky.
“I’ve been told that people ran into to help but I don’t know who they were.
“It sounds like everyone got out.”
He described the explosion as being “like an earthquake”.
Tim Deane, 65, said he believed his neighbour had “got a couple out” from the property but was unable to give further details.
Asked what the explosion was like, he said: “It was just a bang and then ‘swoop’.
“I shouted upstairs and (a family member) came down and said ‘the house has gone’ it just went and then there was this fire.
“The roof of the other house went up then.
“It was really really scary, I have never seen anything like it before. You see it in on television but in real life it’s really really scary.
“It just shows you, you don’t ever know.”
“We were called at 6.53am to reports of a gas explosion in a residential home on Lancaster Road, Yate this morning,” Avon Fire and Rescue Service said.
“The explosion caused a fire, which has now been safely extinguished. A cordon has been put in place.
“Local people are asked to avoid the area while we deal with the incident.”
