Flames gutted a home Tuesday at 711 Harris St. after a mishap involving a four-wheeler.

Robert Taylor, 63, told authorities that he was attempting to start the ATV near a storage shed behind his home.

“I was trying to pull it, and then, boom!” said Taylor, who escaped injury from the quickly spreading fire by running to a neighboring yard.

Three trucks from Vicksburg Fire Department, including Ladder 14, responded to the fire, reported at 5:53 p.m. Neighbors reported hearing three booms before flames spread, caving in the top of the wood-frame house before the fire was brought under control at about 7:15 p.m.

Taylor said he’s lived in the house near Harris and Washington streets for nearly 30 years. His wife, Sarah, was not home at the time of the explosion.

“Five more minutes, and I’d have been here,” she said at the scene.

Battalion Chief Henry Williams said fire personnel remained on scene to extinguish hot spots.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com