House explosion sounded like 'bomb blast'. Watch as blaze rips through Walsall home

Debris can be see being sent scattered across the street and a grass verge after a house exploded. CCTV (click to play above) shows the impact of the blast and the immediate aftermath as flames tore through the two storey mid-terraced property.

Two men were captured on camera fleeing the scene on Shrewsbury Close in Bloxwich, Walsall. as concerned neighbours gathered outside in the street. Emergency services were called to the scene at around 9.30pm  on Monday night, and 65 firefighters battled to extinguish the blaze.

Paramedics were called two hours later to Lower Lichfield Street, in Willenhall, three miles away and found two men with serious burns. The first man had suffered critical injuries while the second was treated for serious injuries and both were taken to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

It was captured by neighbour Hasnath Miah, 43, a dad-of-four, who said he rushed outside after hearing what he thought was a "bomb blast." He said: "We were in last night as a family, I was just on my laptop, my son was doing some university work for his dissertation.

"Then all of a sudden I heard what sounded like a bomb blast. I knew it wasn't a normal sound so I ran outside and could see straight away these flames taking hold. These two guys then ran away from the house and up the street - one was in a blue t-shirt, the other was in white.

"And then from then on it was just a case of the fire spreading and engulfing the house for about ten minutes before the fire service got here. Only they will know what caused it but it all looks weird to me - for the whole of the top of the house to be destroyed like that while the downstairs is OK is not normal.  

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said the community is in ‘shock’, adding that his house has also suffered damage caused by the blast.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Fire Service said: “At 9.26pm on Monday 28 April, Staffordshire and West Midlands Fire Control started to receive multiple 999 calls reporting an incident in Shrewsbury Close, Bloxwich.

"Nine fire crews, our Technical Rescue Unit, a hydraulic aerial platform and a drone were mobilised.

"Our first resources arrived within five minutes of being mobilised.

"They were met with a challenging scene – a severe fire involving an extensively damaged two-storey, mid-terraced house. The fire had also affected neighbouring properties.

"Several residents had got themselves to safety before we arrived, and others were evacuated by emergency services as a precaution.

"Firefighters led one man to safety from a property. He is understood to have been assessed and discharged at the scene by the ambulance service.

"A local church provided shelter, and volunteers from the Red Cross also offered support.

"Firefighters wore breathing apparatus and used hose reels and main jets to tackle the fire, which had been extinguished by around 11pm.

"Colleagues from the police also attended, as well as the council and utility companies.

"Our investigators will be working to establish the cause."