-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Fort Dodge Firefighter Bryce Hamilton, right, gets a fan in position Tuesday evening after natural gas was detected in a Fort Dodge home located at 2509 27th Ave. N. Firefighter Aaron Kampman stands at left. According to Capt. Steve Teske, of the Fort Dodge Fire Department, the occupant of the home thought she smelled gas. Later, she described feeling an explosion in the house. She discovered a fire burning next to her furnace. She extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher and called 911 at about 6:06 p.m. Teske said if someone smells gas in the home or hears an explosion, they should immediately exit and call 911. When firefighters arrived they secured the natural gas at the meter by shutting it off. Firefighters went inside with air monitors and found 25 percent of the Lower Explosive Limit as they made entry. Lt. Tom Ubben opened up all the doors and windows and firefighters worked on ventilating the house to get the readings down to a safe level. It was eventually discovered that the drip leg on the gas line that serves the furnace of the home was barely threaded on when installed and had fallen off, Teske reported. When it fell off, natural gas was able to flow freely. When the air conditioning turned on, it created a spark that ignited the natural gas. According to Teske, it created a flash fire and burned studs in the wall next to the furnace and some electrical wiring. No one was injured. The listed home owner is Elise Carlson, according to the Webster County Assessor's Office.