Dec. 02--A house was leveled by an explosion and fire in the Morgan Park neighborhood Tuesday morning while fire crews were evacuating homes in the area because of an odor of natural gas.
Crews from the Streets and Sanitation Department and Peoples Gas were checking an area near a construction project in the 2100 block of 107th Place about 8:35 a.m., Chicago Fire Department spokesman Will Knight said.
It appears a gas line was ruptured during a construction project, but officials have not yet determined how the line was broken.
While fire crews were evacuating homes a block in each direction because of the possible gas leak, a home in the 2100 block of 107th Place exploded, Knight said. Extra alarms and a hazardous material response were called and at least five ambulances dispatched, Knight said.
There was no report of injuries. No one was at home at the time of the explosion, although WGN-TV reported that the family that lived at the home was looking for a pet that may have been there at the time.
Neighbors told WGN-TV that they heard a loud explosion, and one neighbor who had just pulled into his driveway heard the explosion and said he saw that the front of the single-family home had fallen off.
The Fire Department was investigating the cause of the gas leak and explosion and had not yet determined who was responsible, officials told WGN-TV.
Check back for updates.
