House explodes with firefighters inside

Two US firefighters have had an incredible escape after the burning home they were in suddenly exploded, sending insulation raining onto the street like confetti.

Arkansas firefighter Brian Henry told KSLA-TV he was in the living room on Wednesday night when he "heard a boom and then the ceiling fell."

The dramatic explosion was caught by a news camera filming as a firefighter entered the house.

Firefighters call this type of rare explosion a backdraft.

Backdrafts happen when oxygen is rapidly reintroduced to combustibles in an oxygen-depleted space.

A mother and child living in the home managed to escape before firefighters arrived on the scene.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known.

Sources: KSLA-TV