Explosions heard, partial collapse during deadly Honey Brook house fire in Chester County

HONEY BROOK, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Officials are investigating a fatal house fire that broke out in Chester County on Friday.

The fire started around 4:48 a.m. in the 200 block of Hunters Run Road in Honey Brook.

When crews arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames.

At least one person was killed in the fire and pronounced dead at the scene. The victim's identity has not been released.

Two people are listed as occupants of the home. When Action News tried to call the numbers listed for the residents, there was no response.

The fire caused a partial collapse of the building and neighbors reported hearing loud explosions. It is unclear if the explosions caused the fire or were caused because of the fire.

Many said the force was so powerful that it shook their homes.

"Like something blowing up like a gas tank or something. It was real big and sort of shook my house," recalled neighbor Dale Pegler.

"There was a first like, 'Ba-boom!' It rattled the windows, it shook the house," added Lea Attanasio.

There has been no word on how many people were inside the house at the time of the fire.

Action News spoke with Chantay Horn, a resident who lives across the street from where the explosions took place.

She said she heard the first explosion around 4:45 a.m., at which point she hurried to wake up her 86-year-old mother.

When she peeked outside, Horn said the home across the street was almost completely engulfed by the raging fire.

"It just blew the whole left side of that house up. I mean the windows, everything was just totally engulfed," she recalled.

Police said this was an isolated incident and that there was no danger to the general public.

At this point, there is no known cause of the fire but investigators are hoping to find answers soon.

In the meantime, neighbors say their hearts go out to the victim of this incident.

"It's very sad that he was killed. It's very sad how everything went and how it all happened," said Attanasio.