A fire that started with an explosion has destroyed the Barrington Road house belonging to a couple who were out of town.

"We didn't have life-safety rescue issues when (the fire department) pulled up because they were out of town, which was good because life rescue would have been impossible with the amount of fire we had," said Morris Fire Chief Tracey Steffes while still on scene Tuesday afternoon.

Steffes said the insurance company placed the loss of the house, garage, cars and contents at $1 million.