Alabama Private School Fire Sparked by Leaking Gas Injures 5

Authorities say five people were injured by a sudden fire sparked by leaking gas at a Catholic school on the Alabama coast.

News outlets report the flames erupted Saturday inside a kitchen at St. Vincent de Paul School in Mobile. Two adults, a teenager and two children were taken to a hospital to be treated for burns and gas inhalation.

The source of the igniting gas wasn’t immediately known. Mobile Fire-Rescue spokesman Steve Huffman said a man was using hot water to warm propane tanks that had been left outside in freezing temperatures overnight. But WKRG-TV reports fire officials also found a natural gas leak inside the building.

Huffman said the “flash fire” knocked out ceiling tiles and damaged the interior of the kitchen, but didn’t set the building ablaze.