http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=9349075&nav=menu682_2
Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion
The explosion and fire near Alex closed down State Highway 19.
Associated Press
ALEX, Okla. (AP) — Two people were hospitalized after natural gas pipeline operated by Enogex exploded early Friday morning in Grady County.
Three homes were destroyed by fire after the explosion near Alex and State Highway 19 was shut down.
A man and woman in a mobile home were injured. The man was taken to a Chickasha hospital. His name and extent of his injuries weren’t immediately known.
The woman is identified as Mildred Hull and is reported in good condition in an Oklahoma City hospital with second- and third-degree burns to about 17 percent of her body.
The cause of the explosion isn’t known. Enogex and Oklahoma Corporation Commission inspectors have been sent to the scene.
The pipeline was built in 1975 and transports natural gas from wells northwest of Thomas in Custer County to a production plant south of Alex.
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Interview with fire chief:
http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=9353162&nav=menu495_2
Grady County Fire Chief interviewed, says he could see it from his house 20 miles away, “A big massive, huge fire ball. The sound, it was unreal.”… “This is nothing like I’ve ever seen before. I’ve been in the fire service for 21 years now.” He says the initial explosion was only part of the problem. “Everything ignited from the heat, even the high line poles on the south side of the road ignited from the heat off that,” he said. ”The other house across the road ignited from the heat.”