An 18-year-old man has died after a house garage exploded in Wickliffe Sunday morning, Wickliffe Fire Chief James Powers confirmed to News 5. It appears the fire was started by fireworks.
WFD responded to the 1700 block of Ridgeview Drive around 11 a.m. Police say after the fire was put out they found 18-year-old Nathan Greger dead inside.
The investigative team learned that the resident had stored fireworks in the rear portion of the garage, according to a WFD news release.
"Anytime someone has passed away or killed or something like that it looks to be an accident, it doesn't look to be anything suspicious other than a terrible thing that went wrong," said Wickliffe Fire Chief Jim Powers.
Police body cam video shows the structure up in flames; the sound of fireworks popping can be heard. Photos also show the garage completely destroyed and debris everywhere.
"The damage is pretty significant," said Jim Powers, Chief, Wickliffe Fire Department. "The garage down and the back of the house is pretty well destroyed. The neighboring houses received quite a bit of damage."
After the initial explosion, a series of popping noises could be heard from the surrounding area, a viewer reported to News 5. The Wickliffe Police Department confirmed there were fireworks in the garage that exploded.
"I was watching TV and I heard a big boom and it shook the whole house," said neighbor, Linda Seaton. "I looked out my back window in my family room and there was a flash and it kept going and going. It was like one explosion after another."
Neighbors tell News 5 the explosion blew out their windows and burned siding. Debris can still be seen wrapped around tree limbs. ATF and the State Fire Marshals are now investigating the incident.
"People store a number of things in their garages throughout the year, whether it was propane, fireworks, could have been a lot of different things, or could have been a multitude of things," Powers said. "So we are trying to find that out."
Seaton has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years and hopes this is the first and last time something like this happens.
"It is shocking," Seaton said. "It’s actually a quiet street, until today."
Though fireworks were found in the garage, authorities say the cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
The cause of the explosion is unknown.
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