Officials are blaming a gas line leak for an explosion that leveled half of a house Monday evening in the Pleasant Grove area of southeast Dallas.[[294760811,L]]
A 77-year-old female resident and her 39-year-old grandson were able to crawl from the rubble with only minor injuries from the blast shortly before 8 p.m.
A witness called at about 7:53 p.m. and said a house near the intersection of Memory Lane and Eloise Street had "just exploded," according to Dallas Fire officials. Another caller said there was no fire but that part of the house was missing.
A Dallas Fire-Rescue statement Tuesday said one of the two occupants switched on a light in a bathroom, triggering an explosion that leveled the eastern half of the house. The woman's daughter told investigators she had smelled the odorant used in natural gas the week before while work was being done on a street adjoining the house.
After the blast, Atmos Energy crews found a leak in a gas line in the yard on the eastern side of the house.