Possible Gas Leak Causes Home Explosion, $5K in Damages

A fire that was possibly sparked by a natural gas leak caused a minor explosion in a Poway home Tuesday.

According to Poway Fire Capt. John Perrine, the fire happened in the kitchen of a home on the 12100 block of Poway Road. When the homeowners couldn't put out the fire with an extinguisher, they called 911 shortly before 10:30 a.m.

Poway Fire extinguish the flames in about 20 minutes. Crews had to cut a hole in the family-room floor to extinguish the blaze, which took about 20 minutes.

The homeowners told investigators an appliance repairman had been working on a gas line beneath the residence shortly before the fire erupted. The husband said he had noticed a methane smell just prior to the small explosion.

The mishap resulted in roughly $5,000 worth of damage to the mid-1950s-era house, mostly to the section of flooring that had to be sawed open, according to according to Mark Sanchez, director of safety services for the Poway Fire Department.. The blaze itself only burned some insulation and plastic components attached to a wall heater, he said.

The residents were "extremely lucky'' to have been able to report the fire immediately, allowing crews to arrive in time to prevent it from spreading through the residence, Sanchez added.

City News Service contributed to this report.