KNOXVILLE, Ohio -- A home was destroyed and a man hospitalized after a massive explosion in Jefferson County on Thursday.

The explosion marks the fifth time Eric Walter's home has either caught fire or exploded: once in Toronto and four times at his present location on county Road 56.

"This guy has to be an extremely unlucky individual. Let's put it that way. It's time someone takes a hard look at what's going on here. Someone is going to get hurt," said Steve Meyers, who lost his own home when Walters' home exploded in 2001.

A woman and several children made it out safely after Thursday's explosion. Officials on Friday said Walter is hospitalized at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh with severe burns but did not release his condition at the request of his family.

"(Walter's) girlfriend took them to the top of the hill on (Route) 213 and called 911. She put them in the van (and) took them up on the hill so they would be all right," said Lisa Kennan, the children's mother.

The blast was so intense that people a mile away reported feeling its effects. Walter's neighbors said they are frustrated and concerned.

"We were watching TV and it shook the whole house," said Jim Shaffer. "I said to my wife, 'That sounded like when Walter's house burned down the first time.'"

Meyers said, after the 2001 explosion, he refused to rebuild by Walter again.

"I heard about the house in Toronto that burned. After our last house was destroyed, you come to a point where you don't want to live across from someone like that," he said. "The fire marshal told us then if anyone had been home they would have died."

Officials said 23 emergency crews spend more than five hours Thursday night and early Friday putting out the flames. Crews also had to deal with an additional 10 explosions because of propane and possible ammunition.

A few hours later, crews from Pottery Addition and Knoxville were called back to the scene because of hotspots. To complicate matters, there aren't any fire hydrants in the area so crews had to use tanker trucks.

Pieces of wood and insulation were scattered around the area. A window frame was found handing on a tree limb, while the front door was lying in weeds.

Knoxville Fire Chief Jesse Reynolds said Walter had an underground propane tank, which was about 70 percent full.

Preliminary reports did not indicate where the fire started. A state fire marshal was at the scene at noon Friday to make that determination.

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