SHELBY COUNTY — A neighborhood in Shelby County will never be the same after a house exploded overnight killing two people.
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Shelby and Billy Williams were asleep when the explosion happened around 2 a.m. in the 17000 block of Sharp Road.
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They thought lightning had struck their home.
When they looked outside they said it looked like something out of a movie.
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“It just spread. It started burning the trees, started on the power lines ... it was chaos,” Billy said.
The Williams’ security camera captured the ball of fire down the street.
“They pick up motion, but because how far away that was, you wouldn’t pick up the motion ... the explosion was so big that the camera caught it. It was nuts,” Shelby said. “I remember waking up to him with a worried look on his face.”
They went outside to investigate.
“I looked out to the left and I thought ‘Oh man, it’s on fire.’ so I called 911 and they said they already had two phone calls and fire trucks on the way.” Billy said. “I was praying that they weren’t in that house, and I’m so sad that they were. It’s just awful.”
Fire investigators said the blast killed two people inside the home and their dogs. The victims have since been identified as a married couple, Sherry Ann Tracy, 57, and Thomas A. Tracy, Jr., 56, according to Shelby County Sheriff James Frye.
The Williams did not know the Tracys but often saw them out walking their dogs or going to work.
“I just keep thinking that guy was just planning on waking up and going to work like he normally does everyday,” Shelby said.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office.
We will continue to follow this story.
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