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Homeowners react to backyard fire that burned down shed in Midland

Nobody was injured in the accidental blaze.

MIDLAND, Texas — A fire blazed through a backyard and spread to another home on Wednesday.

The fire happened around 9 p.m., but thanks to some quick 911 calls, Midland Fire Department was able to respond in a timely manner to get the fire out.

However, the fire wasn't the most alarming thing for neighbors.

What was alarming was the sound that rang through the neighborhood from an exploding oxygen tank, rattling many windows and scaring many a neighbor.

“We were getting ready to get to bed, then we heard this loud boom," said Rosa Grant, a neighbor of the homeowners. "Then we walked outside to see what it was, and we saw this fire.”

Marvin Jones has lived in the area for almost 16 years, and it was his backyard that caught ablaze.

He believes that the fire was accidental. The family has a heat lamp inside the doghouse of the family dog, Burger. When that caught on fire, the Midland winds only helped stir it up.

“I’m guessing it was the heat lamp that we had for the dog house, and he was laying in there, and I'm guessing he scooted his bed back close to it," Ramos said. "I think it caught that on fire, and then it just took off with the wind.”

Ramos was inside his house when the fire started. It wasn't until a neighbor knocked on his door that he was able to see the fire and get his family out.

“I was laying in the living room, watching TV, and the neighbor from across the street came banging on the door and alerted me," Ramos said. "I said ‘what’re you talking about?’ He said 'your backyard is on fire' and I saw the back window was orange. So I told the family get out, get out now.”

Meanwhile, neighbor Josie Cantu was trying to combat the flames on her property with a garden house when the shed caught fire. When the oxygen tank exploded, Cantu said she was inches away from getting hit by shrapnel.

“It just… blew up. I saw flames go over me. if it wasn’t for the building, it would have hit me straight on," Cantu said. "I felt the power of it, but it went over me and just a cloud of fire went over the house and on the other side of the house.”

The explosion sent shrapnel flying across the yard and even into the neighboring streets.

Thankfully, nobody was injured during the fire. Now all the families involved will focus on rebuilding their homes.

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