Person hospitalized after home explosion in northeast Albuquerque

A person suffered serious injuries after a house exploded in northeast Albuquerque late Sunday night.

The cause of the incident has not been determined and is under investigation, Albuquerque Fire Rescue spokesperson Jason Fejer said in an email.

At around 10:23 p.m., Albuquerque Fire Rescue responded to a call of an explosion and house fire in the 1000 block of Walker NE, near Lomas and Eubank.

When firefighters arrived, they found the home on fire. The fire was quickly controlled, but not before firefighters rescued a person who was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, Fejer said.

Firefighters also learned a second home was damaged during the incident. Pieces of debris could be seen at the second house, including a piece of roofing that hung on a tree.

No one was reported injured, but people in that home were displaced, Fejer said.

Evan Armstrong, owner of the house across from the explosion, said his home was damaged by the combustion.

“Inside, the walls pushed in a little bit and the garage was damaged a little bit,” Armstrong said.

He said he was startled when he heard a loud “boom” in the middle of the night. Other neighbors reported hearing the same sound, believing it to be a test from Kirtland Air Force Base. They later learned a home had exploded in their neighborhood.

Armstrong said he saw a fire in the garage, but believed something internally caused the blast.

He and other neighbors described the homeowner as a nice man who had been living at the home for some time.

Multiple cars drove by the morning after the explosion, and all of them slowed to take a look at the decimated house, which had been completely destroyed.

Another neighbor could be seen sweeping away shards of glass from his property that was barricaded with police tape.

The New Mexico Gas Company and Public Service Company of New Mexico were on scene to isolate utilities. On Monday, gas company workers walked through the house, surveying damage and combing over debris as they investigated.

New Mexico Gas took multiple readings and did not detect any leaks in the area surrounding the home that exploded, Fejer said.

The incident “appears to be isolated to the involved address,” he said.