TRUMBULL COUNTY Authorities probe house explosion

Investigators are considering the possibility of a second break-in.
WARREN -- Firefighters battling a house explosion Wednesday at 772 Second St. also had to contend with two nonworking fire hydrants.
The home, which was not occupied, had been burglarized the day before, and police and fire officials are theorizing that a second burglary occurred before the explosion.
"We are missing more appliances today than we were yesterday," said Jeff Koehn, investigating the cause for the city fire department.
The house was leveled by a backhoe as firefighters worked five hours to extinguish hot spots, after arriving at the scene at 3:17 a.m. They were hampered by the inoperable hydrants.
The top story was ripped off the house by the blast. The rest of the rubble was pushed into the basement as the residence was dismantled.
Probing for a cause
The debris, plus the wintry weather, have hampered getting into the basement to probe for a cause.
Investigators from the city, Ohio Edison and Dominion East Ohio have ruled out a problem with the gas line from the street to the house, Koehn said. It is possible that gas had accumulated inside the structure after appliances were removed, he theorized.
The recently built home is owned by Warren First Homes, the department said. The first burglary there was reported to city police by Sunshine Inc., 418 Main St., which runs a program that assists people in obtaining a home.
The residence was recently cleaned and carpeted and had a potential buyer, Koehn noted. The criminal damaging and breaking and entering that Sunshine reported to police on Tuesday involved the theft of a refrigerator, dishwasher and carpeting.