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Fire crews work through the rubble of a home explosion in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Emergency responders work at the scene of an explosion at a duplex in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Kristin Murphy, The Deseret News via AP

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American Fork Fire Battalion Chief Justin Whatcott observes the rubble of a duplex explosion in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Debris and insulation covers the front lawn of a home next to a duplex that exploded in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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A police officer talks to people near the scene of a fatal explosion at a duplex in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Kristin Murphy, The Deseret News via AP

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The front of a duplex that exploded in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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A window of a home in American Fork was broken after the next-door duplex exploded Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Crews work through the rubble of a home explosion in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Debris on the street from a home explosion in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Emergency responders work at the scene of an explosion at a duplex in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Kristin Murphy, The Deseret News via AP

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Rubble of a home explosion in American Fork is seen Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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The front of a duplex that exploded in American Fork on Wednesday, March, 2024.

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Rubble of a home explosion in American Fork on Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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An American Fork Fire & Rescue logo is displayed on the side of a truck Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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A woman was found dead after a duplex in American Fork exploded early Wednesday morning. Another woman who lived in a unit on the side of the duplex that exploded walked away with minor injuries.

American Fork Fire Battalion Chief Justin Whatcott said the explosion occurred just before 6 a.m. Wednesday and the duplex, located near 300 East and Main Street, is a total loss. He said the cause of the explosion is still under investigation, with state fire marshals assisting.

Aside from the two women, officials believed there were no other occupants in the duplex.

Whatcott said other nearby structures also were damaged, with the house directly south of the duplex receiving “significant damages.” The fire department is working with the city’s building department to determine when the residents of the neighboring home can return.

Homeowners near the duplex were still cleaning up glass and debris in their yards Wednesday afternoon, with community members from around the neighborhood stopping by to help and get a look at the scene. Along with firefighters, workers for Dominion Energy also were still on the scene in the afternoon.

The identity of the woman who died has not been released. The woman’s body was found at about 8 a.m. after the fire had been extinguished.

Jim Hopkinson, who lives across from the duplex, said he was awakened by a “huge explosion” just before 6 a.m., adding it was the loudest explosion he’s ever heard.

Hopkinson said he immediately ran into his front yard to see the duplex in flames. After running inside to get dressed, he went back out to find his neighbor who lived in the duplex walking out in her pajamas with insulation all over her hair. “So we took her into our home and took care of her,” he said.

Hopkinson estimated about 20 to 25 fire department vehicles showed up, adding the department did a “marvelous” job.

Christy Barrett, who lives next to Hopkinson and across from the duplex, said she woke up to a “loud boom” and ran around inside her home to see what happened when she noticed the flames outside the window.

She said she went outside to see Hopkinson taking the neighbor from the duplex inside his home.

Barrett said the home adjacent to the duplex, where a 94-year-old woman and her daughter live, was significantly damaged, with glass shattered throughout the kitchen and the cabinets collapsing.

Neither Barrett nor Hopkinson said they knew the woman who died and said she kept to herself. Barrett said the woman had been “quiet for a while,” and Hopkinson said he noticed newspapers had been piling up on her porch for “four or five days.”

As for the woman who walked away from it all, Hopkinson said she’s in “good spirits” and “cracking jokes.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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