UPDATE: November 19, 7 p.m.
Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Tracy L. Smith said the investigation into Tuesday's house explosion has determined the cause to be the result of a gas leak which occurred after the home owner disconnected the stove and changed the gas shutoff valve.
Original Story
A house in South Columbus with a toddler inside exploded and caught fire around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Investigators say it was likely an accidental gas explosion that rocked the neighborhood around Lock Avenue.
The toddler and her great-grandfather survived the blast and will recover.
911 Caller #1: A house just blew up.
Dispatch: It blew up?
911 Caller #1: Yes.
Dispatch: An explosion you said?
911 Caller #1: Yes, yes it's on fire
Several frantic calls to 911 came late in the morning from neighbors witnessing, what they call, an inferno of flames shooting from a home in their block.
Dispatch: What is going on?
911 Caller #2: The house, the house blew up! The house fell down.
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Firefighters rushed into thick, heavy smoke to search for survivors after an explosion flattened a home on Lock Avenue.
"You felt the shock wave from the inside of the house. Like, it rattled the windows and everything,” Dustin Ramsey said.
Ramsey shot cell phone video of the aftermath from behind the house, too dangerous to get any closer.
"They just lost everything that they have. They have nowhere to go now. It's crazy,” Ramsey said.
Firefighters on the scene said two people survived the explosion. One of them is a young child. Witnesses say an older man and great granddaughter live there.
"I hoped everybody was ok at that point in time and then we got told everybody was ok which, was a major sigh of relief”, Ramsey said.
While crews fought the flames, Columbia Gas crews turned off gas lines and utilities surround the area.
"We're on scene working with fire officials. Our first priority is safety for the neighborhood so our crews are going door to door just to make sure that the lines are safe,” spokeswoman Kelli Nowinsky said.
Firefighters even evacuated the homes next to the explosion just in case.
Authorities have not released names or ages of the victims. They are in area hospitals recovering from burns. Officials earlier Tuesday expected them to be ok.
Columbia Gas Of Ohio released the follow statement about Tuesday morning’s explosion:
Our thoughts are with those injured as a result of the incident at 829 Lock Avenue, Columbus.
Columbia Gas of Ohio participated in an on-site investigation today with Columbus Fire Investigators and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO).
Based on the evidence, we believe there was a release of gas that was the result of alterations on the customer-owned gas line within the house beyond Columbia’s influence and jurisdiction. These alterations were not performed by Columbia Gas.
Columbia Gas is responsible for maintaining natural gas services lines from the main to the meter.
We will continue to work with Columbus fire investigators and the PUCO until the final report is released.
Although it was reported that neighbors smelled gas prior to the incident, Columbia Gas did not receive any odor of gas calls from Lock Avenue or the surrounding streets over the past few weeks.
As always, if anyone believes they smell an odor of natural gas, they should leave the area immediately, move to a safe location and call Columbia Gas of Ohio at 800-344-4077 and 911. Possible indications of a natural gas leak may include:
Dirt being blown or appearing to be thrown in the air
Water bubbling or being blown into the air at a pond, creek, river or other wet areas
Fire coming from the ground or appearing to burn above the ground
Dead or dying vegetation on or near a pipeline right-of-way in an otherwise green area
Dry or frozen spots on the right-of-way
Hissing, blowing or roaring sound
The “rotten egg” odor of mercaptan