House Explodes In Florence, Gas Leak To Blame.
Investigators continue to search for what caused a house to explode Sunday afternoon in Florence.
A surveillance camera caught the explosion on tape.
The explosion destroyed the first floor of the home before sending the second floor shattering to the ground.
"I think it's probably a natural gas explosion, but what caused the explosion? What was the source of ignition?
Why it decided to ignite at this particular time? Those are the things that we're looking for," explained Florence Fire Chief Marc Muench.
It was the time of day, around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon, that likely saved lives.
There weren't many cars or pedestrians in this normally bustling business district.
Chief Muench says it was a lucky break.
Ryle High School ninth-grader, Jarred Marcum, thought he'd caught a lucky break, too.
He thought he was going to get to skip his dentist appointment on Monday.
"We were kind of lost at first, ‘cause we didn't know how to get in, but then we figured it out. I was shocked to see it was right here next to the doctor's office.
I thought maybe they might be closed and I wouldn't have to get my braces fixed," Marcum said outside Dr. Terry Gruelle's office.
"We've already got him pulled out of bed, so he might as well come on in and get treated and go back to the swimming pool," joked Dr. Gruelle from in his office that is surrounded by boarded-up windows.
Dr. Gruelle and several staff members worked all day to clean up the glass and debris left by the explosion.
The Florence Professional Centre sits next door to the house.
"Of course we got all of the glass out of the inside and it took quite a while, probably about 35 to 40 man-hours just to clean it up, but it's spotless today," Dr. Gruelle said.
The fire chief says the cleanup on the outside is going to take several days due to the ongoing investigation.
Chief Muench says there doesn't appear to be anything criminal at this time, but they aren't ruling out any causes until the investigation is complete.
