Dawson County emergency personnel responded to reports of a house explosion shortly after noon Thursday afternoon.

The house, located on Wildwood Court, off Black's Mill Road in southern Dawson County, was engulfed in flames when emergency personnel arrived on scene.

"We got a call from a neighbor that said he'd heard an explosion. He knew it was in close proximity to his house, looked out his window and saw part of the neighbor's house gone from the explosion," said Tony Wooten with the Dawson County Sheriff's Office.

Local authorities called neighboring Forsyth County for mutual aid to help battle the blaze and make sure the fire didn't spread through the woods to a nearby home.

The family was not home at the time of the blast but arrived a short time later after receiving a call from a neighbor.

"I heard the explosion but didn't think much of it, because we burn wood around here and fire guns sometimes," said neighbor Kurt Krattinger. "Their house is a total loss and everything they own is gone, but the beauty of it is that [the owners] and son were not at home. I did try to calm her as much as possible by letting her know that the blessing is that no one was at home."

The home was more than 3,800 square feet, according to Dawson County tax records.

An initial assessment indicated the explosion could have been propane related.

"Right now, they are saying the preliminary cause was possibly from propane gas or a propane gas explosion," Wooten said.

No other structures were damaged.

Check dawsonnews.com for updates.