Transformer explosion in Sugar Land blasts through homeowner's garage

Vinnie Nguyen had to show his wife the damage on FaceTime.

It's so bizarre that he's having trouble piecing it all together, but this is what he thinks happened: the transformer in his back  yard went haywire around 11 p.m.  "It burned out and created a lot of pressure and it blew through the garage. " he said.

That's right, the transformer blew and sent the cover hurtling through the back wall of the detached garage.  It knocked over shelving and started a fire and burned up his car.

It also terrified his neighbors like Erin McCary.  She ran outside to see what happened. "Fire is extremely hot. I don't know how the fire men and women do this every day. I was fifteen feet away and watering it with my garden hose."

She managed to prevent her own a garage from catching fire. The fence between their yards is a total loss. By midday CenterPoint contractors were replacing the blown unit and trying to restore power to the eight homes effected.

Nguyen was also trying to look on the bright side. "Luckily nobody was home. It's just stuff," he said.

But now he does want a barrier between the garage and the transformer. He knows a little bit about this stuff. He's an electrical engineer.