Grayson County House Explosion Aerial

MILLWOOD, Ky. (WDRB) -- A mother and daughter were hospitalized in Louisville after their house exploded in Grayson County Wednesday evening. 

Family members tell us the mother is being treated for burns at University Hospital, and her daughter was treated at Norton Children's Hospital. We're told there was a gas smell at the house earlier in the day, and the family was making arrangements to stay somewhere else before the blast. 

It happened around 7:15 Wednesday evening in Millwood, Ky., which is not far from Leitchfield. That's when the home on Crawford Street exploded with Angela Young and her 7-year-old daughter, Johanna, inside. The home was destroyed in the blast. In the aftermath, debris was strewn on the ground, along with the charred frame of the house. A door, with a child's backpack still hanging on the door knob could be seen in the rubble. 

It's just an act of God they're alive," said Charlie Love, the pastor of a nearby church. "I don't really understand, other than a miracle, how all the out buildings — our building  — is basically untouched."

Family members say they noticed the odor of gas after the home's propane tank was refilled earlier Wednesday afternoon. The person from the company that refilled the tank also reported smelling gas. When Angela's father found out, he turned off the gas and furnace. Later in the day, Angela and Johanna made a quick stop at the house and were about to leave when it blew up. 

Angela Young's son, A.J. Scanlon, lives on the same street, and felt the explosion. "Our house just shook," Scanlon said. "You didn't hear anything. It just shook, and that was the shockwave, and we didn't know what that was at first. So, I texted my mom: 'Is everything OK?' I got no response. About five minutes later, a neighbor over here said the house is blown up."

Scanlon said his 7-year-old sister was burned on her back and got a cut on her forehead. Young's father, Brenis Hudson, who owns the property says he's grateful his daughter and granddaughter are alive. However, his daughter suffered severe burns. 

"It was terrible," Hudson said. "She's burnt from the top of her head all the way to the bottom of her feet. The skin was hanging on her face, her legs, her stomach. It burnt every stitch of clothes she had on."

Family members told WDRB News that Young is in a medically induced coma in the burn unit of University of Louisville Hospital, but she's stable. Johanna was released from Norton Children's Hospital on Thursday and is home with her grandparents.

The fire marshal is investigating, but says it appears there was a mechanical failure with the furnace. 

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