By james art 
GLENDALE, Mo. – A gas leak caused a house to explode Friday morning in Glendale. Authorities say four people inside the house escaped with minor injuries.
The explosion occurred at a home near Sappington Road and Glen Elm Drive around 9:30 a.m. Several fire departments responded.
Kirkwood Fire officials tell FOX 2 a mother and three teenage children were inside the home at the time of the explosion. Investigators say all four escaped with only bumps and bruises. The four occupants were sent to hospital as a precaution.
Investigators believe the explosion was caused by a gas leak. Power and gas were out in the area while crews responded to the home.
Maddie Burt was on her way to work when she saw him across the street.
“I had my hands on the wheel, looked in my rear vision and saw him. I was just like, ‘Oh my God,'” she said.
Another nearby resident, Matt Berra, saw it through his window. The family fled to his yard after the explosion.
“The whole house was open. You could see it,” he said. “Once the family was in my yard, I tried to comfort them a bit.”
But Bera knew two family members were still missing.
“We know they have two labs there. We didn’t know where they were. We didn’t see them. They were not leaving the house,” he said.
He says he ran inside and helped lead the dogs through the backyard.
Flames were still visible around noon. Parts of the house had to be demolished. The house is a loss, but the close-knit neighborhood could have lost much more.
“Today something was on their side as we got away with minor injuries. Being a fire chief and realizing that my crews were on their way to a gas leak that blew up before they got here really makes me stop and think about what could have happened here today. So we got really lucky,” Kirkwood and Glendale Fire Chief Jim Silvernail said.
Berra added that neighbors will work together to try to help the family replace everything that was lost.
Spire sent the following statement in response: “We were contacted this morning after a third party contractor hit a gas line. We immediately responded to the situation to make the area gas safe. We are cooperating with the authorities in their investigation.
To donate to the family’s GoFundMe, click here.
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