NANTICOKE, Pa. -- A house is in pieces and a neighborhood is in shock after an explosion Sunday night in Luzerne County.
It happened at a home on West Church Street in Nanticoke around 6:30 p.m.
Neighbors reported smelling gas when the blast happened.
Pieces of the home were found scattered all around.
"I was sitting in the parlor, I live in this house here, and when the explosion happened, it shook me and the whole house, you know? I just ran out the back right away. When I came out by the back gate, the man that was in that cellar was out there coughing and choking. And I said, 'Did you dial 911?' And he said no, so I dialed," said Benjamin Sabol of Nanticoke.
Neighbors said that man was checking out the smell of gas when he flipped a light switch and the place blew.
"The house is off its foundation! So I'm just so happy that the guy's OK!" said Lenny Radziak of Nanticoke.
People living nearby said no one was living here at the time of the explosion.
The place was posted with no trespassing signs before the blast.
Those neighbors also said over the weekend, UGI crews were called to the area because of the strong odor of gas.
"He checked the meters outside and he didn't go in the house because it was locked but he checked the houses in the neighborhood, he was here for a whole hour," said Sabol.
A spokesperson for UGI said crews have confirmed there is no gas leak in the lines leading into homes.
"I'm 90 years old and I've been through a lot of things, but never this close, never this bad," said Sabol.
Fire crews said the building will have to be torn down and that may happen early this week.
