Elderly Ky. woman survives after house explodes

[September 23, 2010]  LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Fire officials say an elderly woman was treated and released from the hospital with minor injuries after her house exploded while she was lighting her gas stove.

Officials said a corroded gas line had caused natural gas to leak into the house. When the woman who lived there tried to light the gas stove with a match Tuesday morning, the gas ignited, blowing out some of the doors and windows and igniting the side of the house next door.

Lisa Smith, a spokeswoman for Columbia Gas, said a gas company employee reported the explosion just before 9 a.m. EDT. Smith told The Lexington Herald-Leader the employee was in the area investigating an odor of natural gas.

Neighbors say the elderly woman lived alone and was in her 80s. They said she had lived in the house for decades.

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com/

[Associated Press]

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