Woman: Thermostat replaced before Indiana blast

(AP) Woman: Thermostat replaced before Indiana blast
INDIANAPOLIS
The woman who lived in the home believed at the center of a deadly Indianapolis explosion doesn’t believe the furnace was the source of the blast.

Monserrate Shirley told The Associated Press Tuesday that she had her thermostat replaced recently, correcting a problem heating the home. But she says the furnace was fine.

John Shirley of Noblesville has said his daughter, who lived there, had told him they were having furnace problems. The estranged couple co-owned the home.

Monserrate Shirley also said she smelled a strange odor outside before the blast but doesn’t know if it was natural gas.

She and her daughter were not home when the explosion happened Saturday, killing two people and decimating their neighborhood.

Investigators said they believe gas was involved are focusing on appliances.