Rochester fire officials said that the explosion that obliterated a house on Illinois Street last week was intentionally caused by the homeowner.

The explosion "was directly and intentionally caused by the deceased, past solo occupant, Randal Jackson," said Felipe Hernandez Jr., executive deputy chief of the Rochester Fire Department.

The house, at 64 Illinois St., was destroyed in an explosion at 7:29 p.m. Wednesday and heavily damaged two nearby homes. Authorities on Monday afternoon confirmed that Jackson's body was recovered from the basement area of the house last week.

His cause of death is still pending an autopsy by the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office.

Jackson, 50, purchased the home in 1998, according to city property records. Jackson had been fighting foreclosure for more than a year but ultimately lost the house in a judgment entered this past June, and it was sold at auction earlier this month, records show.

In working with crews from Rochester Gas and Electric Corp., fire officials determined that the gas service was tampered with inside the house.

"The meter’s pressure regulator was removed from the service gas piping causing free flow of gas into the structure," Hernandez said. "The gas vent piping was also tampered with, as the inside piping fitting area had been stuffed with what appears to be paper towels, possibly to prevent the release of gas and/or odor from inside the house to the exterior."

Jackson's missing dog, Dakota, was found Friday afternoon tethered up behind the detached garage on the property, Hernandez said. The dog is being cared for by a friend of Jackson.

Hernandez said it appeared that Jackson placed his dog in a protected area behind the garage before the explosion occurred.

RG&E crews were responding to a report of an odor of natural gas outside 64 Illinois St. and called 911 to request help since the odor "was so rich and so pungent." Firefighters arrived and had parked several houses away when the house exploded.

While the explosion sent debris flying in all directions, no one was injured by that debris, which included pieces of the house and glass.

VFREILE@Gannett.com