By the time crews arrived at a Somerset County home Monday, they say it was already too late.  The house along Bedford Street in Boynton was fully engulfed in flames, but they say luckily everyone was able to make it out safely.

“There was an oil company here filling up the tank.  They filled it and they came around and knocked on the door just to let the resident know it was filled,” says Salisbury Fire Chief Dave Short.  “When he knocked, something exploded inside the house, knocking the resident out, and knocking the front windows out.”

The fire chief says he believes that explosion originated in the basement around the furnace area. It was recently worked on.  Only one woman was inside the home with her dog at that time.

“I ran down quick to see if I could help, to see if someone was in the house, or see if there’s anything I could do, and it was fully engulfed.  It was just terrible,” nearby resident Jeannette Lowery says.

The fire chief tells WTAJ the multiple crews on scene worked for more than three hours to put out the fire.  They battled low temperatures and conditions, “The low temperatures always create an issue.  It makes the ladders hazardous and the roads get slick.  The water supply, as long as the boys keep the supply running through the engines, stay loose.”

Our region has seen several fires since the new year began and the fire chief says there are a few simple things you can do to prevent them.

“Keeping wood and everything away from flames, that’s the biggest thing to prevent a fire.”