Four injured following natural gas explosion, house fire outside Clemmons

Published 12:08 am Thursday, July 31, 2025

Four people were injured and two remain in the hospital after a natural gas explosion caused a house fire just outside of Clemmons on Thursday, July 24.

The incident occurred at approximately 11 p.m. on that night, when the Clemmons Fire Department along with the Griffith Fire Department and Forsyth County Emergency Services – Fire Division were notified about a house fire with a possible explosion in the 2400 block of Friedberg Church Road.

The Griffith Fire Department had been notified about a potential gas odor in the area approximately an hour prior, but had responded and been unable to locate the source following a search.

Griffith firefighters arrived on scene within three minutes and found a working house fire with one person trapped in the home and began working to rescue the person and extinguish the fire.

“Firefighters risked their lives to rapidly locate and remove the trapped victim and began rendering lifesaving medical treatment before turning the patient over to Forsyth County EMS for continued treatment and transport to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital,” wrote Forsyth County Emergency Services in a release.

Three other people had been inside the home when the fire started but were able to escape before firefighters arrived.

All four victims were transported to the hospital and treated. Two remain in the hospital with extensive burns to their body while the other two were treated for minor injuries and released. Forsyth County announced that it would not be releasing the identity of the victims.

One firefighter was also treated at the hospital for heat exhaustion and later released.

Departments that responded to the fire included the Clemmons, Griffith, Midway, Winston-Salem and Arcadia fire departments along with the county fire division, EMS, sheriff’s office and emergency management.

Following the initial investigation, the county has released that the fire was caused by a natural gas explosion, however investigators are still working to identify the specific location and cause of the ignition.

“These investigations take time, consultation with outside agencies and countless interviews with all involved parties and witnesses. We would ask that any bystanders, witnesses or neighboring residents that have any digital footage (photo/video) of this incident, to please email those to stewaraj@forsyth.cc, or contact the Forsyth County Fire Marshal’s Office at 336-703-2550 so that we can obtain this very important information,” wrote the county in the release.