ARLINGTON, Virginia (AP) — A massive explosion at a Virginia home sent debris and flames bursting towards the sky Monday evening after a suspect inside the residence shot at authorities attempting to serve a search warrant.

All officers escaped serious injury but it was unclear what happened to the suspect who was inside the home when it was levelled by the explosion, Arlington County, Virginia, police spokesperson Ashley Savage said.

Officers went to the home at about 4:45 pm after receiving reports of shots fired. They later determined the shots came from a flare gun, Savage said. While police investigated, they obtained a search warrant for the home.

When police later attempted to execute the warrant the suspect fired several rounds inside the home and the explosion occurred just before 8:30 pm, shooting flames and debris into the air police said.

Savage said it was unclear whether the rounds were fired from a flare gun or a firearm. Police don’t have any evidence that others were in the duplex but can’t rule out the possibility, she said.

Carla Rodriguez of South Arlington said she could hear the explosion more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) away and came to the scene but police kept onlookers blocks away.

“I actually thought a plane exploded,” she said.

Bob Maynes thought maybe a tree had fallen on his house when he heard the explosion.

“I was sitting in my living room watching television and the whole house shook,” Maynes said. “It wasn’t an earthquake kind of tremor, but the whole house shook.”

Arlington is located across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. The explosion occurred in Bluemont, a neighbourhood in north Arlington where many of the homes are duplexes.

Fire officials do not know the cause of the explosion, said Captain Nate Hiner, a spokesperson for the Arlington Fire Department.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said federal agents and federal fire investigators were at the scene and assisting in the investigation.