BOTHELL — Hours after a “house blessing” to celebrate the purchase of a family’s new home in Bothell, a suspected gas explosion destroyed the vacant house Wednesday morning, firefighters said.
Around 9 a.m., a house blew up in the 19700 block of 25th Drive SE, according to Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue. The force of the explosion threw a garage door across the street. Part of the roof collapsed.
“The explosion was heard and felt a long distance away,” the department reported. “Windows on nearby homes blew out from the force of the explosion.”
The roof collapse prevented firefighters from entering part of the house, fire department spokesperson Peter Mongillo said. Firefighters were unable to turn the gas off because the meter was behind an unstable wall. Puget Sound Energy crews dug down in the middle of the yard to reach the gas line and clip it.
The two-story house, recently painted an off-white color, was vacant and there were no injuries. A natural gas leak likely caused the explosion, Mongillo said.
A family purchased the four-bedroom house Monday for $950,000, according to housing records. The previous night, they had a “house blessing” with their extended family to celebrate the new place, Mongillo said.
A suspected gas explosion destroyed a house in the 19700 block of 25TH DR SE in Bothell. More info to come out shortly. House was vacant and no one hurt. pic.twitter.com/0xB8IHpiHs
— Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue (@SnoRegionalFire) November 29, 2023
An hour and a half before the explosion, the family left to drop off other family members elsewhere.
“We don’t know if they smelled natural gas before they left,” Mongillo said.
Snohomish County fire marshals, Snohomish Regional fire marshals and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were investigating the cause.
“You have to put everything else on the table to eliminate ‘is this intentional,’” Mongillo said. ”They’re going to find out where it was leaking.”
The previous owner was doing a lot of renovations, Mongillo said. Investigators are looking “into everything,” and the investigation could take a while.
“If you smell the nasty smell of eggs, that’s natural gas,” Mongillo said. “It’s advised to get out of the house.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Snohomish County Public Utility District employees clipped the gas line. The crews were actually with Puget Sound Energy.
Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @snocojon.
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