Madison Fire Department investigators don’t know yet if anyone was inside a house that exploded Wednesday on the southwest side. Fire Chief Steven Davis said the house at 7806 Stratton Way was destroyed. “We had a pretty significant fire and a pretty significant area of debris,” Davis said. Investigators are trying to determine if there is a body in the wreckage, but the homeowners were not there at the time.
The first firefighting units arrived at 2:04 p.m. and noted that the structure was a total loss, Davis said. The fire department was able to make contact late Wednesday afternoon with the homeowners, according to a fire department spokesperson. That spokesperson said Thursday that residents in eight homes near the explosion site are not able to return, and Davis said they might not be able to do so Thursday night.
One resident was injured, and a firefighter received minor injuries. Neighborhood resident Corey Zeman said the explosion sounded like a truck was going through his building. Another witness reported that it “looks like it exploded with no standing structure.”
WIBA