Three Hurt in Okla. House Explosion

BLANCHARD, Okla. -- Police said three people were airlifted to hospitals after an explosion at a house in Blanchard. Witnesses said the blast could be felt from miles away and flattened the home. "It's nothing but kindling. I've never seen anything like it," said Cindy Peters. She said all three people were in the house at the time of the explosion and that a woman and her 2-year-old daughter were spared by a mattress.

Source Story by koco.com

March 8, 2010

2 min read

BLANCHARD, Okla. --

Police said three people were airlifted to hospitals after an explosion at a house in Blanchard.

Witnesses said the blast could be felt from miles away and flattened the home.

"It's nothing but kindling. I've never seen anything like it," said Cindy Peters.

She said all three people were in the house at the time of the explosion and that a woman and her 2-year-old daughter were spared by a mattress.

Peters said she found the two buried under the rubble. The woman's father was buried in another part of the house.

"There was one small hole the baby could fit through, so I crawled underneath and got the baby out," she said.

The Oklahoma State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the explosion. They said it could have been caused by a gas leak. Neighbors said that makes sense because the homeowner installed a stove in the home yesterday.

Homeowner Richard Hoff was listed in critical condition at Baptist Hospital. Tanya Sumner is also there, listed in serious condition. The child Bella Sumner was taken to a burn center in Dallas and was listed in critical condition.