The explosion took place on the 13800 block of Cornuta Street in Bellflower.
Fire fighters respond to explosion and house fire on Cornuta Avenue in Bellflower. Smoke can be seen coming from a window located on the side of the home. Two explosions took place at the location, witnesses tell HMG-CN. Tammye McDuff Photo
UPDATED 10 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19
This is EXCLUSIVE Breaking News from HEWS MEDIA GROUP-COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER.
By Tammye McDuff
(BELLFLOWER) There has been an explosion in Bellflower on Friday night at Cornuta Street and Arthurdale Street.
Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper was on the scene within minutes of the incident.
The exact location of the incident was at 13818 Cornuta Street in Bellflower. The explosion took place at around 6:15 p.m.
At least five units from the Los Angeles County Fire Department are at the scene, as well as several members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Neighbor Ken Scoville lives down the street from the home. “Me and my son were watching TV in the family room, we heard two big bangs, we looked out the window and saw huge flames coming from the house behind us,” Scoville said.
Members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department from Bellflower, Cerritos and Lakewood responded to the scene on Cornuta in Bellflower on Friday night. Tammye McDuff Photo
Another local neighbor is Michael Soufoeft and he told HMG-CN that he lives 250 feet away from the house where the explosion occurred.
“It shot a fireball at least 50′ in the air. 30′ flames ensued. I climbed on top of the roof the to survey the situation and saw a massive fire. Fire companies arrived soon and the fire was contained. The explosion was incredibly loud. Houses don’t normally blow up around here,” Soufoeft said.
The owner of the house Ardella Haynes Earl and her daughter were not at the home at the time of the explosion and subsequent fire.
Ardella Haynes Earl, owner of the destroyed home and her daughter, Tammye McDuff Klein Photos
The Haynes-Earl Family told HMG-CN that they had left their home to get dinner and when they returned they saw that their home was completely engulfed in flames.
Earlier in the day the family had attended the funeral of a cousin who had lived with them at the home.
“We had not been gone more than 15 minutes, when my daughter received a text from a friend saying ‘your house is on fire,” Hayes-Earl said.
“We were on our way back! We have lost absolutely everything,” she said with her voice shaking. “We have nothing left, everything is gone”
The home and its contents are a total lost.
“We had just buried my cousin who lived with us. He didn’t have any insurance so my husband and I paid for the medical bills and the burial,” Haynes-Earl said.
Members of the families church have already stepped up to help the family.
Please contact New Dawn Church of God in Christ New Dawn Evangelistic Ministry COGIC 2335 Long Beach BLVD. Long Beach, CA 90806 (562) 988-8000; [email protected] attention Pastor J. A Caruthers, PhD.
