Authorities said four people were injured after a fire and explosion Monday night at a home in northeast Arkansas.
Bob Blankenship, a firefighter with the Monette Volunteer Fire Department, said the blaze started around 10:20 p.m. with an explosion in the 100 block of Larrison Street in Monette.
Blankenship said two men and one woman were in a "small three-room house" when one of them lit a cigarette "and the house exploded." Authorities said they believe there was a natural gas leak in the residence.
The three people, who were "severely burned," were airlifted to hospitals in Memphis for treatment, Blankenship said.
"They were trapped momentarily, but they got out on their own," he said.
A neighbor, who was also the mother of one of the people in the house, was also injured, the firefighter said. She was taken to a Jonesboro hospital after she fell and cut her head, Blankenship said.
Authorities said the home was in flames when firefighters arrived, but that the blaze was under control by 11:40 p.m. Nearby homes were damaged but did not catch fire, though one vehicle also burned, Blankenship said.
Authorities said that about 30 minutes before the explosion, the woman in the house told the men that she smelled gas, but they didn't smell anything and later began to smoke.
The conditions of the four injured people were not known. The fire is still under investigation, Blankenship said.
Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.
NW News on 06/08/2017