Carlsbad, NM – A local resident was injured in a natural gas explosion Thursday night in the 200 block of East Church Street, Lt. Mo Pruitt of the Carlsbad Fire Department said.
Investigators think a woman, whose name was unavailable, was lighting a cigarette when a buildup of natural gas from a leak inside the home ignited, creating an explosion that blasted out a window of the home and pushed an outside patio table approximately 20 feet, Pruitt said.
“That showed us the force of the explosion,” he said.
The woman was taken to Carlsbad Medical Center and may be flown to another hospital for further treatment.
Firefighters responded at 11:13 p.m. to find the flames had gone out as soon as they began, melting lampshades in all four corners of the room, but leaving framed photographs on the wall undamaged.
“It was just amazing,” Pruitt said.
The cause of the gas leak is still under investigation.