Harrowing bodycam footage shows moment when NJ house exploded with firefighters inside
POMPTON LAKES, N.J. — When a house in North Jersey exploded while firefighters were inside, officials were relieved that no one was killed.
“We were blessed,” borough fire official John Keating said at the time, after being asked how nobody died.
Police body camera footage recently obtained by NorthJersey.com, part of USA Today's network, provides a clear look at the blast, showing a large fireball shoot out the rear of the house.
How the chaotic event unfolded
The three officers whose body cameras captured the blast were standing on Riverdale Road, adjacent to the side of the Ramapo Avenue home where six firefighters were inside on Jan. 14 when it exploded, officials said.
According to Keating, they were inside for less than a minute before the explosion at 2:19 a.m.
At the beginning of the videos, smoke can be seen coming out of the dwelling, but no flames are visible. At the time of the explosion, one firefighter is seen standing on the back porch.
The three officers were chatting moments before the explosion suddenly happened, causing them to run from the blast. The force of the blast blew the roof upward. When the officers turned back toward the house, flames could be seen inside the blown-out home and on the grass surrounding it.
Photos taken later that morning show that much of the structure, including the roof, eventually collapsed.
What happened after the explosion?
Right after the explosion, one of the officers is shown running around to the other side of the house, where the entire facing was blown out. That officer can be heard telling responding EMTs to approach the house "from the back."
On another of the officers' body cams, two firefighters can be seen walking a third from the house after the explosion. Someone can be heard saying over a radio, "I need medics here."
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When the firefighters arrived at the scene, a team of three entered the basement, where they believed the fire was, Keating said. Another team of two went in behind them, along with the assistant chief.
“I thought we were going to have six fatalities. I really did,” Pompton Lakes Fire Chief Jason Ekkers said at the time. “They managed to climb out of the basement with compromised stairs. They all helped each other out, they came out one at a time and we were at the back door, just feeding them out.”
None of the firefighters suffered life-threatening injuries, though two were taken to the hospital to be treated for burns and were released.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New video shows moment NJ house with firefighters inside exploded
