Natural gas leak suspected in Jefferson City house explosion, report states

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Firefighters noted a possible natural gas leak at a house explosion in Jefferson City on Saturday.

However, the cause of ignition is still under investigation, according to a fire incident report.

The explosion leveled the home on 2432 St. Louis Road, leaving an empty plot of ash and damage to neighboring homes.

According to the incident report the total cost of losses added up to $197,300. This was calculated based on the home's Zillow estimate and an additional $50,000 estimate in lost belongings. In the report, the area of fire origin, heat source, item first ignited and factors contributing to the ignition were all undetermined.

The first Jefferson City fire department crews were dispatched at 2:44 a.m. to a house explosion with people trapped and screaming. Firefighters arrived at the scene at 2:49 a.m. and found debris in the roadway and a heavy fire in a portion of the house.

One of the victims, a 29-year-old Jefferson City man was outside the front of the house on the street and told officials he believed there were five additional people inside. The victim left the scene before being seen by EMS.

While firefighters extinguished the front of the house, an officer circled to the back of the house and saw four victims who had gotten out by themselves and one victim, a 47-year-old Jefferson City woman, who was under some debris getting assistance from the Jefferson City Police Department, according to the report. Three of the victims were Jefferson City men aged 44, 50 and 54 and one 31-year-old woman also from Jefferson City.

First responders were then informed that there was a 31-year-old man from Jefferson City who was still trapped inside and began to find a safe way to enter the building.

While searching, crews found two dogs inside the building and were able to speak with the victim who was trapped inside with burns and hypothermia. After some minor tunneling through debris, the victim was able to be loaded onto a stretcher and given a warming kit, the report states.

Rochita Ghosh with MU Health Care said Wednesday that the 31-year-old woman was in fair condition and the 54-year-old man was treated and released. There is no information on the remaining victims.

There was initial suspicion that the explosion was caused by natural gas but the official cause is still under investigation. The reports states that the source could have been a service line but that was undetermined.