Historic homes boarded up, gas service resuming slowly following deadly explosion in Lexington
LEXINGTON, Mo. (KCTV) - The process of restoring natural gas service to the City of Lexington began Friday evening, two days after a gas leak explosion leveled a home, killing a child and severely injuring his father and sister.
At 7 p.m. Friday, the city announced on its Facebook page that Liberty Utilities crews had completed their work to shut off service at 1,900 gas meters. That was done to allow crews to inspect each property for any safety risks before restoring service one property at a time.
Several hours earlier, crews were able to locate and repair the rupture to the gas line that preceded the explosion. The next step of introducing gas back into the system and restoring service to individual customers is underway and expected to take three days to complete.
FROM CHOAS TO QUIET
Main Street was quiet in downtown Lexington, Missouri, Friday afternoon. A few blocks away, in a block where an explosion leveled a home Wednesday night, the sidewalks were nearly empty. The quiet was punctuated by the sound of diggers breaking up the blacktop.
Antebellum homes in the historic district of Lexington, whose windows were shattered by the force of the blast, were boarded up and gas service was still out city-wide following the deadly house explosion.
The explosion was caused by a ruptured gas line. City officials said a subcontractor laying fiber hit the gas line at about 5:45 p.m. on April 9. A Liberty Utilities crew arrived and began digging to repair the rupture. At 7:45 p.m., a nearby home exploded, with three people inside.
Five-year-old Alistair Cunningham died. His father, Jake Cunningham, and 10-year-old sister, Cami, are hospitalized with critical burns.
GAS SERVICE STILL OUT
Liberty Utilities shut off natural gas service to the entire city soon after the explosion. On Thursday, the company’s regional program manager said crews were going house to house to shut off service at the meter.
On Friday, Lexington Mayor Tom Hughes described another setback.
“Everything came to a halt yesterday,” Hughes said on Friday.
Multiple state and federal agencies were investigating, including the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The agency responds to gas explosions as pipelines are considered part of the transportation system.
“The National Transportation Safety Board said you cannot do anything else until we get here,” Hughes said, “so all the Investigations, all the digging, it had to stop.”
Hughes said the NTSB arrived Friday morning, after which utility crews got back to work doing what they were doing at the time of the explosion: digging through the roadway to find the damage and repair it.
“It’s an inconvenience to everybody in our community, but for safety’s sake, we would rather not have those lines on,” Hughes said.
RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES MAKING DO
At a convenience store at the edge of town, a customer was chatting with the clerk about her sadness for the family inside the home that exploded.
When KCTV5 asked about her gas service, she and her daughter described learning to get used to a cold shower as a new experience but just a minor inconvenience compared to those who lost their homes and the family who lost a child.
The neighboring home east of the explosion, which caught fire, was leveled on Thursday. The one to the west, also burned, would need to be torn down too.
Some restaurants were closed due to the inability to use their gas stoves, ovens or fryers.
However, orders are still going out at Ten Twelve Main, a mainstay for sandwiches and drinks inside a historic bank building in the downtown commercial district.
They added electric griddles and made other adjustments to be sure people still have a place to dine out. “
We’re using coffee pots to warm water. We have steamer tables,” said Ten Twelve Main bartender Natalie Miller. “It’s been a pretty easy adjustment, just a couple bumps here and there.”
HISTORIC HOMES DAMAGED
Many of the homes up to a block away from the explosion are now boarded up, one reason why the block felt so quiet. One bore a placard that it was built in the 1850s. A stately home less than a block away seemed to be spared. The city takes pride in its significance as a Civil War battle site.
Hughes reflected on that history as he stood in the thick of the damage.
“I used to live in this one here,” he said, pointing behind him. “It was from the 1860s. This is one of the most historic towns in the state of Missouri and with that being said, we’ve got damage to homes. We’ve got damage to buildings. And more importantly, we’ve got damage to lives that we need to get taken care of.”
TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER
The Lexington United Methodist Church on Friday took donations of toys, clothing, toiletries and more for impacted families.
Counselors with Compass Health were on hand at City Hall to provide support to anyone who needed it. It’s unclear if they will be back on Monday. City administrator Shawnna Funderburk said anyone interested in counseling can call City Hall at 660-259-4633 next week to check.
A Compass Health debrief/support session for first responders has been scheduled for Saturday at the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office.
The Ministerial Alliance will be holding a prayer meeting on Monday, April 14th at 6:30 p.m. at the gazebo in downtown Lexington.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the Cunningham family. The family has also set up an account at Bank Midwest Bank, 1211 Main St., Lexington, MO 64067 c/o Catherine Woods (Cathie).
Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.
