Explosions reported in Raleigh house fire

Neighbors reported the fire at 5347 Barclay Drive, off Buck Jones Road, shortly before 11 a.m. after seeing smoke and flames in the back of the house.

"I just heard a big boom and saw clouds and clouds of smoke and paramedics everywhere," neighbor Tamara Vines said. "I went into the back of a (nearby) house, and there were flames as tall as the house."

No one was in the house at the time, but a dog died in the fire, authorities said.

Firefighters had to restrain resident Matt Savage and one of his sons to prevent them from running inside to try to rescue the dog, a 10-year-old terrier mix named Spirit. Firefighters said they recovered the animal from underneath a bed in the home.

"I wanted to go in there and get Spirit, but they wouldn't let me," Savage said. "I bet you she was just scared to death."

"She's irreplaceable," said his wife, Brenda Savage.

The Savage family had rented the house from Brenda Savage's father for two years.

Investigators haven't determined the cause of the fire. Several propane tanks were on the property, but it was unclear if the explosions were linked to them.

"Anytime you have explosions, it just raises your level of awareness. I mean, we have to be careful into everything that we go into," said Ronny Mizzell, a division chief with the Raleigh Fire Department.

Mizzell said various furniture refinishing chemicals were inside the house, which also made the fire more difficult to handle.

Police blocked off Buck Jones Road between Jones Franklin and Bashford roads for more than two hours.

The Savage family is staying with friends, saying the house is a total loss.