Stamford, Connecticut house explosion caused by gas

STAMFORD, Connecticut (WABC) -- The Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut says a home was leveled in an apparent gas explosion on Tuesday afternoon.

The buildings department was on the scene evaluating the nearby homes that were also damaged near the explosion.

Officials say the homeowner was outside the house, in the rear of the property at the time of the explosion. He was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.

At dusk, the fire still burned in Stamford, five hours after a massive explosion that leveled a Fairfield County mansion and sent parts of the roof flying into neighboring yards.

A shattered window over here, insulation way up there in the tree, and a landscape covered with what used to be a house.

"It was like something out of hell. It really was," a resident said.

"It felt like a mini earthquake shaking beneath me," said Paul Weisel, a neighbor.

From the air, you could see the devastation, a mansion in the hills reduced to splinters when a 500 pound propane tank exploded without warning.

Firefighters couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Since Sandy left people here without power for days, it seems everyone there has installed huge propane tanks, many of them underground. One neighbor said that he planned to switch back to oil after Tuesday's explosion.

Get more Northern Suburbs News »

northern suburbs news, jim dolan

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•