A baseball team helped detain a person of interest after a house explosion in Newark Sunday.

Newark Fire Department Chief Rufus L. Jackson told News 12 that he is praising the heroics of the team who happened to be playing a game right across the street from the home.

Syid Perez and his teammates said they were startled by the sound of the explosion and saw a man who appeared to be in the house.

"All we saw was big flames in the air, the side of the house blew over to the next house over and when we ran out, we saw someone jump out the basement window. That's when we chased him down," said Perez.

The man told told the team he wasn't in the house and took off running.  

The 15 baseball players and an umpire ran after the man through several backyards until they were able to stop him.

Officials say the person was injured as a result of  the explosion. They say the person was transported to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Officials say adjacent buildings experienced superficial damage as a result of the explosion.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.