14-05-2025
Neighbors react to Hamburg house explosion
HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) — Residents of West Lane in Hamburg are still in shock after a house on their street exploded on Monday night, killing one person and injuring another, who is now in critical condition.
According to Hamburg police, 78-year-old Joene Pease died in the house explosion and 78-year-old John Pease was taken to ECMC. There were no other injuries reported.
Police received calls about the explosion just before 9 p.m. One person said the explosion practically shook their house.
'I'm watching TV and all of a sudden it was a huge boom,' said Chris Polito, who lives on East Lane. 'It was instant, it didn't last long or anything.'
Kathy Bradley, who lives a few houses down from the explosion, was also watching TV when the explosion occurred.
'We were watching TV and all of a sudden you hear this boom and it was loud — came out the front door and looked down the street and saw the house in the middle of the street,' she said. 'Went back in and called 911 told them a house exploded.'
'The house is gone,' Polito said. 'It's awful, you hear that and it's hard to believe that right up the [street] in this neighborhood I walk all the time, that one of those houses is gone.'
People who heard the house explode have been stopping by the street all day on Tuesday to see the extent of the damage for themselves, while questioning how it happened.
'I don't know how they got anyone out there in the first place because there was nothing left of the house,' said Roger Britton, who lives on East Lane.
Bradley said the Peases were quiet and 'stuck to themselves.' She recalled seeing them in the yard once in awhile.
'You can see there's a lot of damage,' said Alie Lavontuie, who lives on East Lane. 'My heart goes out to the families and everybody who knew them.'
The explosion remains under investigation and officials have not yet released a cause.
Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work.
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