Investigators: Massive South Florida house explosion stemmed from accidental gas leak

A massive explosion that rocked a Broward County neighborhood days before Christmas has been deemed an accident by state fire investigators.

The Dec. 19 blast — detonating just after midnight — leveled one home at 5206 SW 20th Street in the city of West Park and sent shock waves and debris throughout the neighborhood, damaging several houses and cars.

The two adults and two children inside the house were hospitalized, but miraculously survived and recovered despite the eruption leaving little left of the structure. Footage from nearby security cameras, released to Local 10, captured a fiery mushroom cloud when the blast detonated.

Pieces of the home, including its roof, were strewn about the street by daylight. The glass in neighbors’ windows were shattered.

A March 1 report from the Department of Financial Services Division of Investigative and Forensic Services — which is the state fire marshal — concluded that the explosion was an accident and likely caused by a leaking 200-pound propane tank that was located on the property.

The report doesn’t say why they used the tank, though it did note that the home was not powered by natural gas.

Nevertheless, there was a gas line leading from the tank, which was in the yard, into the house, the report reveals. Investigators said the cap on the tank was damaged, and the cap on the line they found inside the house that was connected to the tank was loose.

Investigator Moises Arce added that it could not be determined whether the cap had gotten loose before or after the explosion.

A neighbor told investigators that he smelled gas two days prior to the blast, according to the report. Another neighbor said he smelled something strange the next day, but he deduced it to be an odor emanating from a septic tank.

Arce wrote in the report that his “hypothesis” is the gas from the leaking tank vented into the home and was distributed throughout the house via the air conditioning ducts.

“Once the explosive limits were reached, several competent sources of ignition (refrigerator, A/C unit, air handlers heating coils) could have detonated the propane,” Arce wrote.

“Based upon the scene examination, physical evidence, witness statements, supporting documents and consideration of atmospheric conditions, this explosion has been classified as accidental,” the report concluded.