Philadelphia Row houses falls

(CNN) -- Row houses were reduced to rubble when an explosion rocked a Philadelphia neighborhood Monday, sending at least eight people to hospitals.

Natural gas caused the blast, which collapsed three homes, city officials said in a statement.

Witnesses told CNN affiliate KYW that they smelled gas after the blast.

"I was sitting in the house and I heard a big bang," Mike McGraw told KYW. "The door slammed and the TV went out."

His son, Mike McGraw Jr., said he saw the buckled buildings and watched firefighters hose down a man who had been burned.

"They threw this baby out the window because the girl was on fire," he said, "and the fireman had to catch the baby."

A contractor was doing rehab work in a vacant home when it collapsed, Deputy Fire Chief Robert Coyne told reporters. The two adjacent houses were also destroyed, he said.

This story from Philadelpia,and more topics tonight.