TWINSBURG TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Dozens of homes were damaged Thursday afternoon after a gas leak led to a house explosion on Hiram Lane in Twinsburg Township.
On Friday, Twinsburg Fire Department Chief Earl Wilson held a news conference to provide an update on what happened.
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Wilson said three homes were completely destroyed, and nearly three dozen sustained varying levels of damage, some severe.
Two people were treated for injuries; there were no fatalities, Wilson said.
It's unclear at this time what the source of the ignition was that sparked the gas leak and led to the explosion.
The Summit County Sheriff's Office, Twinsburg Police Department and Hudson Police Department also responded to the scene.
When crews arrived at the scene on Thursday, firefighters called for an evacuation and advised residents in the area to shelter in place.
While the shelter-in-place order has since been lifted, officials are asking everyone to avoid the area.
"We know this has been a difficult and emotional event for our community. Like you, we are incredibly grateful that there was no loss of life and that injuries were limited despite the significant damage," the fire department said Thursday.
Officials said the gas line leak was likely caused by a contractor drilling.
According to Uniti, one of their contractors was working on the gas line at the time of the explosion.
"We can confirm our subcontractor was working in the area on June 25 when a gas line was struck. Based on our initial findings, we believe this damage was the result of inaccurate markings of underground utilities by a third-party utility locating service." the company said in a statement. "We are cooperating with authorities as they conduct their investigation, and our thoughts remain with the Twinsburg Township residents who were impacted."
On Friday, News 5 reporter Nadeen Abusada spoke to some residents and members of the community regarding the impact.
As the explosion happened, Akiree Foster was delivering packages.
"You could hear stuff cracking and there was stuff falling on my window from the debris coming out of the air. It was crazy," Foster said.
Karen Pack, who lives next door to where it began, spoke to News 5 Thursday night.
"All of a sudden I’m on the second floor and all my windows blew out," said Pack. "I’m like I just have to get out. So I have nothing. All I have is my phone and myself."
Pack said the two houses next to her are gone.
"We haven’t figured it out, but we will take a moment, get some water and discuss what we’re doing next," she said.
