Dec 18, 2008 8:14 am US/Eastern
Victim Not Identified In House Explosion
SCITUATE (WBZ) ―
Authorities have not yet released the name of a man killed in a house explosion in Scituate Wednesday.
The blast destroyed the home on
Turner Road and severely damaged several other houses. A woman who lived across the street was taken to the hospital. No serious injuries were reported.
WHAT HAPPENED
Don DiNunno, a spokesman for Bay State Gas, said a neighbor next door to the house called to report a strong odor of gas at 1:57 p.m. He said a company technician was en route when the fire department notified Bay State at 2:35 that the house had blown up.
A man's body was found in the rubble.
The home owner, Kimberly Chubbock, a nurse at South Shore Hospital, was at work at the time of the explosion. She told WBZ her boyfriend may have come home sometime during the day.
BLAST FELT HALF-MILE AWAY
People reported feeling the blast from up to a half-mile away.
"It felt like a bomb had just gone off," one neighbor said. "It was really frightening. We came out of the house and everyone was out on the street to find out what was going on. You couldn't miss it. It was a big explosion of flames going up into the sky."
Windows in homes one-third of a mile away were broken from the power of the blast.
Scituate Town Administrator Richard Agnew said he saw a dresser about 30 feet up in a tree.
"Numerous homes have structural damage, and a lot of windows and doors have been blown out," Agnew said. "All around the neighborhood there is debris for a half mile diameter. It's pretty bad. I've never seen (anything) that bad."
Fire Chief Richard Judge said seven neighboring houses were damaged, and four are uninhabitable. The street was evacuated and power and natural gas were shut off for a time as a precaution.
SEARCH FOR THE CAUSE
DiNunno said Bay State Gas had not done any recent work at the property and had no crews working in the area at the time of the explosion.
He said they're still trying to find the cause. Gas service was restored at mid-evening.
Neighbors told WBZ gas work had been done in the neighborhood within the last week.
The fire chief said 15 people had to leave their homes and the town is working with the Red Cross to provide any needed shelter.
"Our hearts go out to his family," Judge said of the man who died. "It's the Christmas season no one wants to see something like this."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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