Woman killed in violent explosion that destroyed Utah duplex

A woman was killed early Wednesday morning in a caught-on-camera explosion that destroyed a northcentral Utah home.

Wild video footage captured the fireball rapidly engulfing the duplex in a residential area of American Fork just before 6 a.m.

The thundering blast illuminated several city blocks, shaking security cameras on the neighboring homes and setting off several car alarms, the videos shared with 2KUTV show.

The explosion decimated the two-family home and caused significant damage to surrounding buildings, including blown-out windows and melted yard fences.

At least two women were inside when the explosion erupted, one of whom was found dead in the rubble around 8 a.m. when firefighters extinguished the inferno.

Her identity was not immediately released.

The second woman was safely evacuated from the house’s second unit. Her condition was not clear.

A pet dog was also found several hours after the blast after walking out of the rubble on its own.

“When he came out of that house, I was like, ‘Where did he come from?’” American Fork Fire Battalion Chief Brandon Boshard told KSL-TV.

“It’s unbelievable. Like he was wet, covered in insulation and debris.”

Dominion Energy Services confirmed it had conducted “routine maintenance in the area” the day before the blast but did not say whether it could be tied to the incident.

“In the early morning hours, Dominion Energy, along with the fire department and other emergency personnel, responded to an explosion at a duplex in American Fork,” a spokesperson said in an email. 

“We were completing routine maintenance in the area yesterday.  At this time, we are focused on gathering all the pertinent information to assist with the ongoing investigation.”

Investigators are still working to uncover the cause of the deadly explosion.

American Fork is a city of more than 37,000 people located about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City.

With Post wires