Home explosion kills 2, levels house near Van Alstyne, officials say

An explosion killed two people and leveled a house near Van Alstyne this morning, according to fire officials.

Residents reported hearing a loud boom around 1 a.m. Monday on the 600 block of Stone Marshall Road northeast of Van Alstyne, which is in Collin and Grayson counties, according to the Grayson County Fire Marshal. The city is roughly 52 miles north of Dallas.

The two occupants of the house were inside when the explosion happened and were found dead in the debris, according to the fire marshal. Their bodies have been transported to the Dallas Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsies, and their identities have not been released.

Around two-thirds of the house was leveled, according to a statement from Gunter Volunteer Fire and Rescue. The explosion’s subsequent fire was extinguished within a few hours, the county fire marshal wrote in a statement.

The cause of the explosion has not been released and Grayson County Fire Marshals are investigating the incident. The home uses propane for appliances and it’s possible a propane leak led to the explosion, according to the fire marshal’s statement. It appears that the explosion was accidental, the statement said.

The Railroad Commission of Texas sent an inspector to the house to investigate a “potential propane-related explosion,” a spokesperson confirmed.

Because there weren’t hydrants nearby, responders used a drop tank and shuttled water from the nearest hydrant, according to the statement from Gunter Volunteer Fire and Rescue.

Multiple departments were called in response to the fire, including Gunter Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Van Alstyne Fire Department, Tom Bean Fire Rescue, Howe Fire Department, Whitewright Fire Department, Anna Fire Department, Westminster Fire Department and the Grayson County Fire Marshal, according to a statement from Gunter Volunteer Fire and Rescue.