What was the home at 65 Ohio Street Extension in Norwalk is now a pile of smoldering rubble.
Just before 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, an explosion leveled the house, and fire crews said it was remarkable that no one died in the incident.
Nowalk Fire chief Denis McCarthy tells NBC Connecticut an underground natural gas leak at the street level is the source of the gas.
Neighbors say they were rocked in their homes by the explosion. One man says he thought a tree hit his own house.
"It was hard to tell what was inside the house and what was outside the house because everything was just scattered in the street," said Antvan Huribal who lives two doors down. "The whole front of the house was blown out."
Fire crews say parts of the front and back wall of the home were blown off in the explosion. Somehow, the parents made their way to their 16-month-old infant on the second floor, grabbed him from his crib, and escaped their burning home.
"They escaped death last night. We're very very fortunate all of them were able to get out intact," said Norwalk Fire Chief Denis McCarthy.
The wife and baby are fine. The husband has burns on his hands and face and his hair is singed. He was kept overnight at Norwalk Hospital.
Yankee Gas was on the scene throughout the night trying to isolate the gas leak. The rubble burned all night, fueled by the gas line to the house that burned a bluish flame. By 5:30 a.m. crews were able to shut down the gas. An hour later, fire crews began extinguishing the last remains of the smoldering home.
The Norwalk Fire Department is collecting gift cards for the family to help them through the holidays.
