Raw video: Gas main on fire with house as exposure in Columbus, Indiana.
Click here to follow STATter911.com on Facebook (hit “like”)
No one has been injured after flames gushed from a ruptured natural gas line near downtown Columbus.
Columbus Fire Department spokesman Matt Noblitt said that homeowner Harold Lockhart and another man were using a motorized auger to dig holes for a fence post Wednesday morning when the auger ruptured the line and the heat from the auger motor’s exhaust ignited the gas.
No one suffered serious injuries, but the house at 1024 Chestnut St. sustained an estimated $10,000 in damages from the heat of the fire, according to the Columbus Fire Department.
Fire department crews responded and worked to protect the house from the flames to prevent them from causing more damage, said Columbus Fire Chief Joel Thacker. Firefighters also controlled the flames until Vectren Corp. could shut off the gas and determine the source of the leak.
