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Police say the suspect fired a flare gun dozens of times from inside the home into the surrounding neighborhood
ARLINGTON, Va. — Police and firefighters continue to investigate a massive house explosion in Arlington Monday night. The blast, felt miles away, was caught on camera.
According to the Arlington County Police Department, officers went to a home in the 800 block of North Burlington Street around 4:45 p.m. on to execute a search warrant after responding to calls of a person firing a flare gun.
Arlington Police said in a press statement that a suspect, who has not been identified, fired the flare gun approximately 30 to 40 times from inside his home into the surrounding neighborhood.
Radio traffic provided by OpenMhz shows firefighters were initially confused by the call they responded to.
“It’s either fireworks or flares, I’m not sure which one it is,” a firefighter told a dispatcher.
During the course of the investigation, officers obtained a search warrant for the home, and attempted to talk to the man via telephone and loud speakers with no response. Police say the man remained barricaded inside. At around 8 p.m., the barricaded man fired several rounds, from what investigators believe was a firearm, inside the house. Subsequently, the house exploded around 8:25 p.m.
Firefighters can be heard radioing for backup following the explosion.
“We need all fire apparatus we can get, the house has exploded,” one firefighter tells a dispatcher on his radio.
Police are still working to figure out what exactly led to the blast.
“The investigation into the circumstances of the explosion are ongoing,” police said in an initial statement.
Police say minor injuries have been reported but no one has needed to be taken to area hospitals. Police have not verified what happened to the man in the home.
Arlington County Fire Department crews got the fire under control around 10:30 p.m. and crews were monitoring the blaze to make sure it didn’t flare up again in the overnight hours.
No damage has been reported related to the flare gun and officials continue to investigate the impact on the community from the explosion.
Police have not given an update on the status of the man inside the home. It is also not known whether police had any previous interactions with the man.
ACFD evacuated neighbors as a precaution. A shelter-in-place order was in place for several hours during the investigation. That order has since been lifted, according to authorities.
Video captured by X user @connormaj showed the moments the house exploded
Power was knocked out in the immediate area following the explosion. By Tuesday morning, Dominion Energy reported zero outages on its website.
Carla Rodriguez of South Arlington said she could hear the explosion more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away and came to scene, which was roped off blocks away, to see what was happening.
“I actually thought a plane exploded,” she said.
Bob Maynes, who lives nearby, heard the explosion, too.
“It didn’t feel like an earthquake, but there was a boom… I was like, ‘What could possibly cause that kind of noise,'” he said.
Will Smyth said he heard the explosion as he was coming out of the gym.
“You just hear the bang out of nowhere. I remember walking out to my car, and just hearing a big pop,” he said.
Another neighbor said the blast shook his whole house.
“I thought someone drove a car through a front door or something. I didn’t know what to think,” Jeff Bradley said. “It’s definitely not your average Monday night.”
Bradley said he’s lived in the neighborhood for about six years and has never experienced anything like this before.
“Not even remotely close,” he said.
This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available.
Despite the size and surprise of the fiery explosion, none of the firefighters were injured. Video courtesy: Fairfax County Fire and Rescue
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