Woodstock house leveled in explosion after gas leak

An explosion Monday afternoon in Woodstock damaged 10 buildings, including one house that was destroyed, but no one was seriously injured.

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries fighting the subsequent blazes.

A house along Lincoln Avenue was reduced to rubble after the blast that occurred around 2:30 p.m. The homes on either side were also damaged.

There was no immediate word on injuries or casualties.

The blast could be heard on the city square, which became filled with smoke billowing

from nearby buildings.

Before the explosion, the Woodstock Fire and Rescue Department had reported the area of Tryon Street between Washington and Judd streets was closed because of a “natural gas leak in the roadway.”

City Manager Roscoe Stelford sent an email to other city officials at just before 3 p.m. saying one home was “decimat(ed)” and reporting that a garage was on fire on the north side of Judd Street.

Nicor said that a “third party conducting work unrelated to Nicor Gas damaged a natural gas pipeline in the 200 block of Tryon Street.”

Its statement didn't name the third party but said Nicor personnel were on the scene “working with first responders to safety secure the area and to assist local authorities with their investigation.”

Mayor Mike Turner said at about 5:45 p.m. that residents were allowed to return to their homes.

St. Mary School near Tryon and Lincoln has canceled classes for today. Students were not in school Monday because of Columbus Day.

At Napoli Pizza, not far from the site of the explosion, the blast damaged windows and knocked items of the wall, an employee said.

Julie Shoffner, who lives around the block from the house that exploded, said she took a walk near the house about 1:15 p.m., smelled a “very strong odor of gas” and saw police, fire crews and other workers looking for the gas leak.

About 2:30 p.m., “my whole house shook,” she said.