Woman Remains Hospitalized After Seminole House Explosion

An update to a house explosion in Seminole—so violent, the walls were blown off.

A woman was inside the house Friday night when neighbors told News 9 they experienced what felt like a California earthquake.

Neighbors said the woman remains hospitalized with second and third-degree burns.

“She's lucky to be alive, I’m not sure how she made it,” said neighbor Laura Jacene.

Packing a punch powerful enough to splinter two by fours, lift a roof, and scatter debris hundreds of feet away, the explosion rattled a neighborhood.

“It knocked me out of the bed, I know the neighbor was walking across the street and knocked him to the ground,” said Jacene.

Jacene was inside her house, across the street when her neighbor's home exploded.

“All you could hear is a loud boom,” said Jacene.

Within seconds she saw what was left of a home.

“I ran outside and all you could see is debris in the air, her house was on fire,” said Jacene.

Jacene learned her neighbor was trapped, but still alive.

“We didn't know if she was home or not, we were hollering her name and she was telling us she was in there,” said Jacene.

According to neighbors, Good Samaritans came to the woman’s rescue.

“They were able to find her, and they beat that front window out and dragged her out,” said Jacene.

The woman was pulled from the rubble.

“She was kind of shocked, didn't know what happened, her hair was everywhere, she had debris all over her, ashes,” said Jacene.

And while state fire marshal's work to determine what sparked the explosion, the woman told neighbors her gas may have been left on and ignited as she lit a cigarette.

“When I walked in, that's all you could hear is gas spewing, there were flames everywhere,” said Jacene.

The home cannot be salvaged.

According to a contractor, he’s been hired to demolish what’s left of the house.