Explosion Demolishes Carolina Home of NFL Player, Killing His Father

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A North Carolina mansion owned by NFL player Caleb Farley exploded Monday night, killing his father and injuring another person.

Authorities said the home in Mooresville, near Charlotte, was completely demolished by the blast, which may have resulted from a gas leak inside the home, according to multiple news reports. Farley, a cornerback for the Tennessee Titans, was not at home at the time. He lost his 61-year-old father in the explosion. A family friend climbed out of the wreckage and was treated a nearby hospital.

Local agencies, including the Iredell County Fire Marshal’s Office and the utility company, Dominion Energy, were investigating the cause of the explosion, USA Today reported.

The explosion came two weeks after a house near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, exploded, killing six people and damaging 10 nearby homes. The cause is still under investigation but authorities said that the homeowners had recently reported trouble with their gas water heater.

Fires and explosions linked to natural gas service may be more common than some homeowners realize. The National Fire Protection Association has reported that an estimated 4,200 home structure fires in the United States started with the ignition of natural gas, causing an average of 40 deaths per year.

A Boston television news station noted that from 2010 to 2022, 2,700 gas pipeline and transmission line leaks that were considered significant were reported across the country and 362 had resulted in explosions, according to data from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Photo: Caleb Farley in 2022. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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