I've never seen or heard of a meteorite being described quite this way. It's a bit unnerving.
I will admit I have been following all these reports recently, because I have an interest in the field rather than because I believe it portends something bigger. There have been a lot of interesting reports recently, but similar to the mid-west tornado reports, I wonder if there are just more people spread over larger areas allowing for more sightings.
A 'house sized' meteor would do a lot of damage. If this story was 100% factual, I would think there would be other reports from the area indicating downed forest/a large crater/etc... The fact that the article does not allude to finding anything of consequence, makes me believe there was no ‘house-sized’ meteor.
The item most comparable in size from recent history was a meteor which exploded over Siberia in 1908. It was a considerably larger (but probably the closest recent-history example), and had
devastating affects over a sizeable area (largely uninhabited forest).
Here are a few links to that event, keep in mind that the Siberian 'object' was probably about 2 to 4 times as big as a house, so it would have definitely caused a good deal more damage than a house-sized object. I believe it gives a 'relative' idea though, so it is worth comparing the two.
1908 Siberia Explosion - Reconstructing from Eyewitness AccountsTunguska : The Cosmic Mystery of the Century