One person dead after explosions and fire destroy Rock Island home March 31, 2010
Source:WQAD
March 31, 2010
March 31, 2010
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - One person is dead after a fire swept through a Rock Island home Wednesday.
9-1-1 callers reported hearing an explosion just before the flames, where smoking and oxygen tanks may have been a bad mix.
"It was like a bomb going off," said one neighbor.
Neighbors rushed to the scene around 2 p.m. Wednesday, after a blast shook their floors and rattled their windows and walls.
Charlie and Christine Owen shot an amateur video of the scene minutes before fire crews arrived. The video shows flames beginning in the living room area of the home, and a neighbor using a garden hose to keep the flames from igniting his house.
Neighbor Zach Fry heard the blast and rushed to the scene.
"It was a loud explosion and I ran out within a minute. I called 911 right away and told them to get up here, but (the home) was already totally engulfed, you couldn't get within 20 feet of it."
Neighbors say the elderly woman who lived in the home was on oxygen and had tanks inside the house. Firefighters heard several more explosions as they fought the flames.
Neighbors poured into the streets to view the scene. One-by-one, family members arrived fearing the worst. Rock Island Fire Chief, Doug Vroman, confirmed their worst fears.
"We do have a fatality in the structure of origin."
While investigators haven't yet confirmed the body is that of the woman who lived in the home, fire crews admit the loss will be felt by the community.
"Its always tough, anytime you have a fatality. This is a close-knit neighborhood. People care about each other, especially to have an elderly woman die who lived in the neighborhood for a long time. It's a tough deal."
9-1-1 callers reported hearing an explosion just before the flames, where smoking and oxygen tanks may have been a bad mix.
"It was like a bomb going off," said one neighbor.
Neighbors rushed to the scene around 2 p.m. Wednesday, after a blast shook their floors and rattled their windows and walls.
Charlie and Christine Owen shot an amateur video of the scene minutes before fire crews arrived. The video shows flames beginning in the living room area of the home, and a neighbor using a garden hose to keep the flames from igniting his house.
Neighbor Zach Fry heard the blast and rushed to the scene.
"It was a loud explosion and I ran out within a minute. I called 911 right away and told them to get up here, but (the home) was already totally engulfed, you couldn't get within 20 feet of it."
Neighbors say the elderly woman who lived in the home was on oxygen and had tanks inside the house. Firefighters heard several more explosions as they fought the flames.
Neighbors poured into the streets to view the scene. One-by-one, family members arrived fearing the worst. Rock Island Fire Chief, Doug Vroman, confirmed their worst fears.
"We do have a fatality in the structure of origin."
While investigators haven't yet confirmed the body is that of the woman who lived in the home, fire crews admit the loss will be felt by the community.
"Its always tough, anytime you have a fatality. This is a close-knit neighborhood. People care about each other, especially to have an elderly woman die who lived in the neighborhood for a long time. It's a tough deal."
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