WATCH: Hundreds of Pounds of Fireworks Stored in Home Explode, Injuring Five and Leveling Two Houses

Powerful explosions caused by several hundred pounds of fireworks stored in a home destroyed two houses and injured five people this week on Whidbey Island, a normally quiet community in Washington state.

Three firefighters were among the injured.

Several videos of the blast have gone viral on social media.

The fireworks were stored in a home that had caught fire, likely caused by someone smoking too close to the stash of pyrotechnics, Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue Chief Jerry Helm told Seattle’s FOX 13.

“They’re kind of like a little ticking time bomb, and you’re not sure when they’re going to go off,” he said.

The home was in the Lagoon Point neighborhood of the island, which is located in the Puget Sound about 65 miles north of Seattle, and is home to about 13,000 residents.

Among those affected by the disaster is Tanya Hernandez, who luckily happened to be driving home Tuesday afternoon to care for her pets and discovered the unfolding chaos.

“They just kept going off — it was like the Fourth of July,” Hernandez told Fox 13. “The house was fully engulfed — we called 911. Our main concern was to get the dogs out of the house.”

Three firefighters were injured in the explosion after they responded to a call of a house fire Wednesday afternoon, the Island County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday in a release, reported by Fox News.

“Two of the firefighters are now recovering at home and the third is expected to leave the hospital soon. Two civilians took themselves to the hospital before first responders could evaluate them, the release said,” according to the report.

Besides the leveling of the house where the fireworks were stored, “[t]he ensuing fire destroyed a neighboring home and damaged a third,” King5 reported.

Fox’s account continued, “The sheriff’s office said it will determine after the investigation if any criminal charges are warranted. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating.”

It is not been revealed yet why the homeowner would have stored what one outlet reported was 700 pounds of fireworks.

 Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.