As authorities investigated, neighbors shared stories of hearing and feeling the blast that injured two people.
Jason Tookes was sitting on his porch with neighbors when the explosion knocked their doors open and shut.
"We thought it was one of our houses," the Lewis Street resident said of the blast about 5:15 p.m Saturday in Phillipsburg. "Never heard anything like this."
A couple hundred feet away, the duplex at 78 Filmore Street had blown apart sending debris into the road.
Two people were injured in the explosion, one with burns over half his body, authorities said at the scene. A cause had not been identified as of Saturday night.
As emergency crews combed the scene, neighbors gathered near the police lines and shared stories of where they were when the felt or heard the explosion.
Mayor Stephen Ellis was about a half-mile away participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at Phillipsburg High School when it happened.
"It shook the ground," he said, adding that he heard from others who felt it as far as three to four miles away. The blast knocked out some air conditioners and broke a few windows in nearby homes, the mayor said.
Rita Flowers said the pressure moved her hair and dress.
"We can understand (the effects of) a bomb going off," said Flowers, who was among the group outside with Tookes when the house blew. "It was a heat. ... I never want to feel that again."
Donald Spinato Jr. said he felt his whole house shake about 1,000 feet away on Evelyn Avenue.
"Scared the living hell outta me," he said.
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Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.