#House explodes in upstate New York

A house in upstate New York blew up on Wednesday, igniting at least two other homes, authorities said.

Videos posted on social media showed a massive fireball lighting the sky and shooting up flames and debris at around 6:10 p.m. in the town of Gates in Monroe County.

“It sounded like a bomb went off,” witness Richard Pecorella told local outlet WROC.

It wasn’t immediately known whether anyone was inside the house that exploded at the time of the blast.

The Gates Police Department said no injuries or deaths were reported as of around 8:30 p.m., though first responders were still checking the area.

Capt. Brian Gebo, of the Ridge Road Fire District, said the cause of the blast was unclear, but that “the house is no longer standing,” the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported.

“There’s still an active search but we haven’t found anyone in the home or around the home so we’re still searching debris piles now, looking for any victims,” Gebo said.

The blaze that spread to two homes adjacent to the one that blew up was placed under control by the more than 120 firefighters from 30 different fire departments at the scene, authorities said.

Several residents of nearby homes were evacuated.