Arson blamed for southeast KC house explosion

An explosion that demolished a southeast Kansas City house Wednesday night is being investigated as arson, police said Friday.

One woman who lived next door suffered minor injuries as a result of the blast in the 7700 block of East 113th Street that also damaged two other houses.

No one was inside the destroyed house. Neighbors reported that they believed it was vacant.

Several hours before the explosion, Missouri Gas Energy workers had checked the area after receiving reports of an odor of natural gas. But utility workers were unable to find any signs of a leak,. MGE officials said.

On Friday, Kansas City police said that arson was responsible for the blast.

Police did not release details of the investigation.

This story was originally published September 19, 2014 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Arson blamed for southeast KC house explosion."