'It was horrifying': Neighbor recalls propane explosion that shook Lake Worth neighborhood

LAKE WORTH BEACH — A gas explosion gutted a two-story home in a gated community Friday night, igniting a fire so strong that it melted the plastic picture frames and faux-leather chairs in a home next door.

The explosion in Lake Worth Beach's Bay Hill Village remains under investigation. However, neighbors believe it began when a 100-gallon propane tank caught fire. Witnesses said three explosions — the propane tank, the generator it was fueling, and a backup propane tank — killed a cat and reduced the home to its foundation, leaving little untouched but fishing gear and a Bible.

Steve Jackson, his wife, their two children and dog survived the explosion. They, along with the help of neighbors who heard the blast and felt their homes shake shortly before 11 p.m., began the slow process Saturday of picking through the rubble.

"It was horrifying," said Annalise Wellman, who lives two houses away. "There were so many police and firefighters, I’ve never seen anything like it."

Wellman, a 23-year-old science teacher at Okeeheelee Middle School, said the neighborhood lost power at about 9 p.m. Friday, prompting Jackson and other neighbors to turn on their generators. Wellman said she suspects the solar flare that made the northern lights visible across the world caused the power outage.

Her younger brother, Nathan, and his friends noticed a glow coming from the side of Jackson's home and went to investigate. Nathan pulled out his phone and began to record.

"Someone's crib is on fire, bro," he said. Within a second, it exploded.

Wellman said Palm Beach County Fire Rescue arrived within 12 minutes, though it "felt like an eternity" to the neighbors scrambling outside with hoses. A spokesperson for the fire department said they began hosing down the house within two minutes of arriving. They did not say how long it took to extinguish the fire.

Neighbors launched two fundraisers for the Jackson family and their next-door neighbor, whose house was blackened and windows were blown out by the explosion.

Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: House destroyed, cat killed in Lake Worth Beach propane tank explosion