Nobody was hurt early Tuesday afternoon when a spark ignited propane vapors that had escaped from a tank behind a church in Hooversville, authorities said.
Jean Corden, secretary of Holy Family Roman Catholic Church on Sugar Street, said she was alone in the church shortly after noon Tuesday when she started smelling propane.
“About 15 minutes later, there was this kaboom,” she said.
Chief Jim Karashowsky of the Hooversville Volunteer Fire Department said that workers likely overfilled the tank, allowing propane vapors to escape through a damaged valve. The gas was then ignited by a spark created when the church’s air-conditioning unit kicked on.