A man desribed as blind and elderly is in hospital in Hamilton and gas is shut off to 200 homes as a precaution after an explosion in east central Hamilton Tuesday. It happened on Gibson Ave. about 2.15 p.m. when the front of a one-storey home near Birch Ave. and Barton St. erupted scattering debris across the street. The man was briefly trapped. His condtion is unknown at posting.