A Woodland Hills home was heavily damaged by fire and smoke after a natural-gas line explosion Tuesday night, Los Angeles fire officials said.
An elderly couple inside the home were saved by a gas company worker who called them out of the home moments before it erupted in flames, officials said.
"As he was pulling up, the occupants were asking him to come up the driveway," said assistant Chief Patrick Butler with the Los Angeles Fire Department. "He told them no, I'm gonna pull up my vehicle and then he called them to him personally: Please come to me. As soon as they arrived at his location, the house blew up."
That SoCal Gas employee, who has worked for the company for seven years, said he was just following company protocol.