Jared McNett
Sioux City Journal, Iowa
(MCT)
Jul. 14—LE MARS, Iowa. — An early Wednesday morning explosion in a residential neighborhood in Le Mars injured three people and destroyed two homes.
The blast occurred around 6:30 a.m. at the corner of Third Street Southwest and Fourth Avenue Southwest.
Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief Dave Schipper said three individuals were inside or around the home at 327 Third St. SW at the time of explosion and suffered injuries. Two of the victims were taken to Floyd Valley Healthcare by ambulance, while the other was transported to MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center and then transferred to a Lincoln, Nebraska, burn center. The individual remained in stable condition as of Wednesday evening.
Schipper said it was “very fortunate” that no one died in the explosion. The residence was used as a rental home, owned by Bill Anthony. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental, probably the result of built-up gas in the home igniting when a person in the basement was attempting to light a water heater.
消防队长助理报告爆炸。He was on his way to Fire Station 1, when he saw the explosion and debris being flung into the street, according to Schipper. He said the houses at 327 and 321 Third St. SW were completely destroyed and a third house at 315 Third St. SW was also damaged, but didn’t catch fire and remained in “livable” condition.
At least 14 other properties within a three-block area suffered damage to some degree or other, ranging from broken windows and broken garage doors to things being jostled and falling from the walls of homes.
Total property damage from the explosion could exceed $350,000, according to a subsequent press release Schipper sent out.
Schipper noted that several houses and structures in the area, including a fire station, suffered damage. Fire crews spent more than five hours on the scene.
多个人员,including the Le Mars Fire Department and the Orange City Fire Department, worked to extinguish the fire with gallons of water and two aerial structures.
The explosion occurred exactly a week after a house exploded in rural Battle Creek. The three occupants of that home suffered “substantial” injuries, according to Ida County Sheriff Wade Harriman.
Jared McNett is an online editor and reporter for the Sioux City Journal. You can reach him at 712-293-4234 and follow him on Twitter @TwoHeadedBoy98.
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