Our water is FLAMMABLE! Family's terror as tap water containing TWICE safe level of methane creates fireball in their bathroom as it's set alight by a nearby candle

Debby Kline was lighting a candle near the sink a few weeks ago when the water suddenly exploded

Occurred because the Kline family's well water contains double the acceptable amount of highly-flammable methane gas

Drilling for natural gas at a site near to the Cleveland, Ohio, home could have caused the methane level to rise

Officials in Ohio and in Washington are investigating the case

A Cleveland, Ohio, mother is fearing for her family's safety after the tap water in their home caught alight, causing a 'huge explosion.'

Debby Kline was lighting a candle near the sink a few weeks ago when the water suddenly ignited, creating a fireball in the bathroom.



'Oh I was so scared. It just was a huge explosion, the entire sink up to the ceiling,' Kline told the Today show.



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Scared: Ohio mother Debby Kline, pictured, is fearing for her family's safety after the tap water in their home caught alight

According to Today , the explosion occurred because the Kline's water, which comes from a local well, contains more than twice the safe level of highly-flammable methane gas.

'We're putting our kids in the bathtub every night in this explodable water,' Kline said.



Methane is invisible and occurs naturally in the ground but can become dangerous when it seeps into water wells. When the ground is shaken up by anything from earthquakes to drilling the seepage gets even worse.

According to Today, a natural gas company has been drilling at a site close by to the Kline's home.



Before embarking on the drilling, the company, Mountaineer Keystone, paid the family to test their water. The results showed the methane levels were 9, which is just within safe limits.



However, just months into the project, the methane levels had shot up to 22 — more than twice the acceptable level.

Explosion: The explosion occurred because the Kline's water, which comes from a local well, contains more than twice the safe level of highly-flammable methane gas

Gas: Methane is invisible, and naturally occurring in the ground but can become dangerous when it seeps into water wells

'We're wondering if this is all just coincidental,' Jason Kline told the NBC morning show.

Amy Mall of the Natural Resources Defense Council told Today that millions of families across the United States shared the Kline's fear of their water exploding every time they turned the faucet.



'This family in Ohio is not alone,' she said. 'There's been methane found in drinking water across the country. '



Mall said laws need to be tougher to protect homeowners.



'Oil and gas companies have been granted special exemptions from of our most important environmental laws,' she said. 'And we need really tough enforcement, which we don't have now.'

Fears: The Kline family, pictured, are drinking bottled water but continue to bathe using the tap

Drilling: A natural gas company has been drilling at a site, pictured, close by to the Kline's home, which may have caused the level of methane to increase

Ohio officials told Today that they were investigating the case and Congress has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to study the potential effects of drilling on drinking water.

Mountaineer Keystone said that they support the state investigation, adding that 'there are many natural variables that can cause the levels of methane to change.'



The Klines could buy a methane filtering system to protect themselves against the highly-flammable water but, at $8,000, they can't afford it. Instead, they are drinking bottled water and are continuing to bathe using the tap.



'We don't know the consequences of sitting in gas water,' said Debby Kline, tearing up. 'We just don't have a choice.'