Local News

Oxygen tanks explode in fire at Wake Forest home

A firefighter was injured overnight after a fire and multiple explosions in a Wake Forest neighborhood.

Posted Updated

By
Joe Fisher
, WRAL multimedia journalist
WAKE FOREST, N.C. — A firefighter was injured overnight after a fire and multiple explosions in a Wake Forest neighborhood.

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, crews responded to large flames at a vacant home on Quail Crossing Drive near Wait Avenue.

Officials told WRAL News that multiple oxygen tanks inside the home exploded, sending people running from their homes after midnight.

"The fire was towering as big as the trees, and at one point it was swaying so hard that it looked like it was going to hit our house," said a neighbor.

Oxygen tanks prompt fire, multiple expositions in Wake Forest neighborhood

Neighbors told WRAL's Joe Fisher that a man used to live in the home, but he died in December, and it has been vacant since.

The officials cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

More than 20 firefighters responded to the scene. One suffered a sprain injury to his foot or ankle, authorities said.

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