Family narrowly escapes death after NJ home catches fire and explodes in storm
A New Jersey home caught fire and exploded overnight — but miraculously no one was injured because the family had already fled due to flash flooding warnings.
The home on Parkview Avenue in North Plainfield exploded and collapsed just before 11:25 p.m. on Monday as heavy downpours wreaked havoc on the tri-state area.
Fire crews rushed to the scene to find the dwelling engulfed in flames and the four residents initially missing, ABC7 reported.

However, the family was soon found, and explained that all four of them had evacuated earlier when flash-flood alerts were blasted out for the neighborhood — with no idea their house would soon explode.
Remnants of the leveled home could be seen strewn across the street late Monday as the flood waters engulfed the roadway.
Some neighboring homes appeared to have also been damaged by the explosion.
It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the blast but complaints of gas were recorded around the neighborhood at the time.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy had earlier declared a state of emergency due to the torrential rain and flash floods as he advised locals to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.

In parts of the Garden State, cars and emergency vehicles in towns including Somerville and Plainsville were overwhelmed and partially overturned as roadways were turned into raging rivers.
Still, most flash flood watches and warnings had expired in parts of New Jersey as the rain moved on, but some roads and streets were still flooded as of early Tuesday.
With Post wires
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