A married couple has gone on trial accused of blowing up their investment property to claim insurance money.

Krzysztof Kuchar, 48, and Sarah Kuchar, 42, were jointly charged with arson after a rental property they owned on Falcon Street at Holden Hill, in Adelaide's inner north east, exploded and was reduced to rubble in October 2011.

The District Court heard petrol had been poured throughout the house and the blast from the explosion was so powerful debris was flung across the road, damaging several neighbouring properties.

In his opening address, prosecutor Kosmas Lesses said a man who was at a party nearby heard the explosion in the early hours of the morning and saw an injured man crawling out of the rubble.

"On the prosecution's case, the man crawling out of the rubble and dashing to the car was the accused, Mr Krzysztof Kuchar," he said.

Mr Lesses said part of Kuchar's leg bone was protruding out of his skin and the man helped him to his car which was parked out the front of the house.

He said Sarah Kuchar was in the driver's seat of the car and the couple's two young children were in the back seat.

"On the prosecution's case, Mr and Mrs Kuchar were not just passing through the area, nor were they there for an innocent purpose," Mr Lesses said.

"They were there because they made a foolish decision to set fire to their investment property with a view of claiming an insurance policy.

"Mr Kuchar was the person who set fire to the property, or rather caused it to blow up, while his wife played the classic role of the getaway driver."

Mr Lesses said instead of calling an ambulance or driving to the nearest hospital, the couple drove more than 800 kilometres to country Victoria, where they sought medical assistance in Wangaratta.

"If Mr Kuchar hadn't done anything wrong, if he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, why did Mrs Kuchar drive him all the way to Wangaratta for medical attention?" he said.

"This fleeing from the crime scene was also done out of a consciousness of guilt."

The court also heard that Krzysztof Kuchar told a doctor at the hospital in Wangaratta he had injured his leg in a motorbike accident.

Krzysztof Kuchar arrested in Victoria

He was arrested and extradited from Victoria 12 days later.

The court also heard he told police he went to the house on the night of the explosion to change the locks on the doors because he had been having problems with tenants who had recently moved out.

Mr Lesses told the court locks were found in the couple's car.

"On the prosecution's case, the locks were purchased as a sham explanation in case the police came around asking questions," he said.

The court heard Krzysztof Kuchar had problems with rent collection and had previously made a statement to police about an assault against him by one of the tenants.

Mr Lesses told the court Sarah Kuchar had also spoken to police about the assault but her statement included a detail which her husband's did not - that the tenants had made threats to burn down the house.

"She was planting the seeds to suggest someone else was responsible for the arson," he said.

The court also heard the couple, who lived about an hour's drive from the Holden Hill house, had recently increased the insurance coverage on the property.

The trial before a jury and Judge Paul Muscat continues.