ST. LOUIS (AP) — Authorities say two people have been taken to the hospital in critical condition after an explosion in St. Louis leveled one house and set two others on fire.

According to St. Louis Fire Captain Garon Mosby, about 80 firefighters responded to a call from someone who heard a blast in the Baden neighborhood late Thursday. Moby said one person was rescued by firefighters and transported to the hospital.

Officials looked for more than an hour for another person believed to be in the rubble, until they learned that the victim had been taken to the hospital by a St. Ann police officer who arrived at the scene soon after the blast.