This was no cause for celebration.
Massachusetts firefighters were left in hot water this weekend when unintentional fireworks sparked a massive propane-fueled fire that destroyed two suburban homes and damaged a third.
Crews in Spencer, Mesa., were already dealing with arctic 20-degree temperatures, dangerously icy conditions and a raging inferno that ripped across East Avenue around 4 p.m. Sunday. CBS News said.
But the massive fire – which spread from propane tanks stored in the basement of one of the destroyed homes – wasn’t the only problem.
At one point, the flames reached the fireworks set off in the house — a spectacular sight visible in all directions across the skyline of the small town about a half-hour west of Worcester.
Video taken by a neighbor and published by CBS shows the fireworks shooting skyward, then exploding, and shocked onlookers screaming in surprise.
“The main house, we didn’t do anything at the beginning,” Spencer Fire Chief Robert Parsons. told WCVB in Massachusetts. “When we pulled up it was well contained.”
Officials said the house was vacant when the fire broke out.
“Pretty quickly, this house collapsed on itself,” Parsons said. “It was an old house. There was a fire about 30 years ago, so the house had an old section and a new section. “We believe it originated in the older section.”
Later, the local fire department said in a Facebook post that “two of our families in town lost everything tonight and a third has had his home damaged.”
“It’s devastating right before Christmas,” said Justin Peck, who lives in another house. “It feels like everything is falling apart.”
Officials said two firefighters also fell through the ice while trying to draw water from the depths of a nearby pond, as there are no fire hydrants in the area.
Despite the catastrophic property damage, there were no injuries from the flames, icy conditions or the impromptu Independence Day display.
Local officials and the State Fire Marshal are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.
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