Unoccupied house explodes, nearby roads shut down
Investigators are looking into what caused an explosion at an unoccupied home in Otsego. It happened around 8:30 a.m. Thursday near the 17000 block of 53rd Street Northeast. The house was unoccupied
By John Lauritsen
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OTSEGO, Minnesota (WCCO) — Investigators are looking into what caused an explosion at an unoccupied home in Otsego.
It happened around 8:30 a.m. Thursday near the 17000 block of 53rd Street Northeast. The house was unoccupied, but the explosion was so loud that people living in the next town over reported feeling vibrations.
“I was just having a cup of coffee looking out the window and then BANG! We hear this concussive boom,” said Chris Broska.
Broska was getting his daughter ready for school when his quiet, routine morning took a sudden turn.
“And I see a bunch of detritus and what-not fly through the tree line there,” said Broska.
The explosion and fire that followed destroyed the home on the other side of the tree line.
“I talked with a firefighter earlier from Elk River and he said it shook his house from a little ways away,” said Chris Dunleavy, assistant chief for Rogers Fire Department.
First responders and fire crews from three departments arrived just minutes after the explosion. The biggest challenge was finding a water source, but once they did, they had the flames put out within an hour. The house was a loss and scattered among the debris were snowmobiles and other valuables.
David and his construction crew were working on a home next to the explosion. They watched a window land on the next lawn over. His co-worker took pictures and video of the fire that followed. David said he saw the top of the house go straight up in the air.
“When that happened, it just blew the whole thing and you could see the roof went up and down,” said David. “Just shock, you know?”
Investigators are trying to determine what happened, but the assistant fire chief told us that the natural gas wasn’t on and the propane tank on site, was secured.
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