One house was destroyed and another damaged after neighbors reported hearing an explosion late Thursday night.
According to the Van Buren firefighters, neighbors heard an explosion about 10:30 p.m. and walked outside to see the house at 1907 N. 28th Street on fire.
Firefighters said the house next to it at 1909 N. 28th Street caught fire. Neighbors woke the owner, and everyone made it out of the house safely, firefighters said. No one was believed to be living at the first house at the time of the fire, firefighters said.
The firefighters said they did encounter a problem when trying to extinguish the flames.