Natural gas is the suspected cause of a house explosion in Crestwood that killed one person Thursday afternoon, fire officials said Friday.

Responders arrived at the 1 1/2 story home at 14105 S. Kenneth Court at about 2 p.m. and extinguished the fire by 4 p.m., Crestwood fire Chief Jonathan Newton said in an emailed statement.

A 76-year-old resident of the home was found dead in the home’s basement at about 8:15 p.m., after responders “methodically and meticulously” searched the rubble, Newton said. He said the search of the home was delayed due to safety concerns.

The resident was transferred to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Newton said the Fire Department suspects the cause was a natural gas explosion, but the cause remains under investigation.

Nicor Gas, in a statement Friday, said crews remain at the scene and “we continue to assist local authorities and are committed to cooperating fully with this ongoing investigation.”

The medical examiner’s office reported that, following an autopsy, the cause and manner of the person’s death was still under investigation. The victim’s name and other information was not immediately available.

On Friday, along with Crestwood police and public works employees, an investigator with the state fire marshal’s office was at the scene, toting tools including a shovel. Nicor Gas trucks were parked about a block away and several Nicor employees were at the scene.

No village did not provide any other update on the explosion, fire and investigation as of Friday afternoon.

A neighbor directly south of the destroyed home said they have lived there 24 years and knew the man well. The neighbor was home at the time of the explosion, working in her basement.

“It was like a bomb went off,” she said. “I knew it was some kind of crash or explosion. There was a pretty massive fire after the explosion.”

Much of their wood fence along the driveway between them and their neighbor was destroyed and a lot of debris, including wood, siding and roofing, was in their driveway.

The neighbors said the man killed in the explosion was a Vietnam veteran whose wife died a few years ago.

The woman said their dog, a Siberian husky named Bo, was in their backyard at time of blast but not hurt.

“I grabbed my dog and ran to the corner,” she said. “The flames were kicking up. I wasn’t staying in no house.”

Jim Sessa has lived on 141st Place where it meets Kenneth Court since 1996, and said the victim’s son is married to his ex-wife. He said he would see him almost daily.

“I would be outside and he would drive by and wave,” he said.

Sessa said he was working from home when he heard the explosion and dashed over to the home.

“I have never heard anything or felt anything like that before,” he said. “Within a matter of a minutes it was blazing.”

Judy Sargis lives about two blocks away, near Kolmar School, and was home at time.

“My house shook,” she said.

Sargis said she saw black smoke when she looked out her window, and thought a home near her was on fire.

She made her way through a field west of the destroyed house and came across mail, papers and photos that had apparently been sent flying by the blast.

“None of it looked like it was damaged “ she said.

Daily Southtown reporter Olivia Stevens contributed to this article.