The explosion happend at a home located at 2602 Syracuse Dr. in North Irving. It was at approximately 2 p.m. on Sunday.
A home next to it was also damaged. The blast was so strong that it extinguished the fire.
The explosion was felt within a 6 block radius. Workers at the nearby CVS Pharmacy on Story Rd said that they felt the explosion as if it had happened next door.
Neighbors describe chaos after the incident with many individuals running up and down the street yelling at other neighbors to call 9-1-1.
There was a 46-year-old man inside the house, exited the home after the explosion and sat on his porch. A neighbor that ran to the scene described him as disoriented and badly burned. The first police officer at the scene instructed the man to stay seated until an ambulance arrived. It's being reported that 20% of his body was burned. Luckily his wife and daughter were not in the house at the time of the explosion.
One Atmos worker believed that the explosion happend when the man attempted to light a cigarette, but this has not been confirmed by authorities.
Atmos Energy crews where at the site Monday morning checking gas leaks all along Syracuse Dr. They did find several leaks and are fixing these one at a time. One neighbor complained that Atmos was not communicating as to the danger of these leaks. After several attempts to get answers, a representative from Atmos informed them that they could stay at a hotel and that the cost would be handled by Atmos. According to the home owner the leak danger was described on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being most dangerous. They were told the danger level was 2. The family were planning on staying in a hotel tonight.
The most important damage is in the piping below the street in front of the house that exploded. Workers where breaking into the concrete this afternoon to fix it as soon as possible.
According to County records, the house at 2602 Syracuse Dr is owned by Bradley and Cheryl Luttrell.
