Federal agents are assisting in the effort to pinpoint what caused a suburban St. Louis house to explode, injuring two of its three occupants.
Florissant police say the explosion destroyed the home about 2 p.m. Sunday.
A Kansas City-based spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says that agency is involved because Ferguson police have asked for the assistance.
John Ham adds that the ATF has two fire investigators and an explosives specialist working on the case.
Two occupants of the home sustained burn injuries. Their medical statuses were not immediately available Tuesday.
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FLORISSANT, MO.
An explosion leveled a house in the 800 block of Pershall Road Sunday afternoon.
Two people were able to escape and were taken by ambulance for treatment of burn injuries. A third appeared to be unharmed.
Windows
at the house were blown out into the front yard and the explosion shot
glass and debris into the road, which runs along Interstate 270. Siding
on two adjacent houses melted.
According to a family
member, Robert Jerome Malawey, who owns the home, was inside at the time
of the explosion with his brother Nicholas J. Malawey, and Nicholas’
son, Scott Malawey.
“We
got a call and they said Bob’s house exploded,” said Tammy Malawey, 50,
of Troy, Mo., who is a sister-in-law of the two brothers.
She said Robert Malawey suffered the most injuries. Nicholas also had burns, while Scott was not injured, she said.
Jason
Hoevelmann, battalion chief for the Florissant Valley Fire Protection
District, said responders received a report of an explosion about 2 p.m.
and found the house engulfed in flames.
Hoevelmann called the explosion a “pancake explosion.”
“The top just fell straight down on top of itself,” he said.
He said the cause was unknown.
Utilities were on the scene investigating.
Several
police, fire departments and districts responded. In addition to
Florissant Valley, other fire departments and districts at the scene
were Metro North, Berkeley and Ferguson.
One neighbor
reported seeing the two men emerge from the house, including one
crawling on his knees out the back door. Witnesses also said they saw
the two men leave on stretchers.
“It sounded just like a
bomb going off,” said a neighbor who did not want his name used. He was
in bed at the time. He and his wife jumped up and ran out to see one of
the men crawling out the back door of the house.
George
Simms, 70, who lives two doors down the street, said he heard what he
thought was thunder or a tractor-trailer crashing on the highway. He
went into his backyard and saw the house destroyed.
“I don’t see how anyone walked out of that,” Simms said.
Ken
and Carol Angell, 77 and 74, said the brothers have lived in the house
for about 15 years. They are active in church and sing in the church
choir.
“We are just happy they are alive,” Carol Angell said.