AN ACCIDENTAL PROPANE GAS LEAK AND EXPLOSION COMPLETELY DESTROYED A HOME FIVE MILES SOUTHWEST OF BEMIDJ, MN

 

AN ACCIDENTAL PROPANE GAS LEAK AND EXPLOSION COMPLETELY DESTROYED A  HOME FIVE MILES SOUTHWEST OF BEMIDJ, MN

January 31, 2015

Bemidji, Minnesota:

LATEST UPDATE:
It looks like nothing short of a miracle that a rural Bemidji, Minnesota man survived an explosion that leveled his home.

Officials say it appears an accidental, propane gas leak caused the explosion at Ken Swenson’s home at 5:30 Monday night, five miles southwest of Bemidji.

Swenson remains hospitalized with cuts on his head and arm. His wife was not at home, when it happened.

The explosion completely leveled Ken Swenson’s home. The blast turned it into splinters of wood, shards of glass and pieces of insulation that created a debris field 100 yards in diameter. Pieces of the home were stuck high in the branches of trees, far from where the home once stood.

The blast could be felt and heard for miles around Bemidji. The 9-1-1 switch board was quickly inundated with calls.

Reporter: “Your house really shook?”
Margaret Lease, Neighbor: “Oh, yeah. In fact we had people call from 3 miles away that felt it.”

Another neighbor, Dewey Mattfield a retired State Trooper was first on the scene. Mattfield says he found the victim lying 30 feet from the home, after hearing his calls for help in the dark.

Dewey Mattfield, Found Victim: “I had no flashlight, so I walked over to him and said Kenny? And he said yes, and I said this is Dewey and he said, hi Dewey.”

Mattfield says Swenson had cuts on his head and arm. But, Swenson was able to tell him what happened, before paramedics arrived to transfer him to the hospital.

Dewey Mattfield: “He said, my furnace was making a funny noise. He said, I was talking to my wife on the phone and she was telling me what buttons to push. And that’s all he remembers.”
Reporter: “The house blew up?”
Mattfield: “Yeah, yeah.”

Mattfield says that Swenson also asked him about the condition of his dogs. Unfortunately, the Fire Chief says that no pets were found alive.

UPDATE:

Fire investigators say it appears the cause of a home explosion south of Bemidji appears to be accidental. Investigators with the Bemidji Fire Department, Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office believe it may be related to a propane gas leak in the home.

On Monday evening emergency responders arrived on scene to find an occupied home that was totally destroyed. Emergency personnel located and quickly removed one person from the debris who was in the home at the time of the explosion. He was transport to Sanford Hospital by ambulance, but no other information on his condition is available.

ORIGINAL STORY:
One person is in the hospital after a house explosion Monday evening south of Bemidji, Minnesota.

The incident happened near Carr Lake Road Southwest in Grant Valley Township. Around 5:30 P.M. county officials started receiving calls about an explosion somewhere in southwest Beltrami County, large enough to rattle windows and knock pictures off people's walls.

Emergency crews had fanned out and searched the area for the source, when they received a call from a man saying a house had exploded and smoke was pouring out.

One person was transported to the hospital. Police are still investigating the incident and say they plan on releasing more information later Tuesday morning.