Firefighters investigate Jackson explosion

The Jackson Hole Fire Department said they still aren’t aware what caused Thursday’s propane explosion. During Friday morning’s investigation, they found more leaks in the AmeriGas company’s propane tank.

“We found out that there are more leaks coming from the thousand gallon tank; that’s why we stopped people from coming to get their belongings from Bell Fitness,” said battalion chief Brian Coe.

The fire department implemented a flaring treatment to burn off the remaining propane. During that time, roads were blocked to keep the public safe.

“It wasn’t nearly as big of an impact as what we had yesterday, but it was still a concern, especially individuals that were walking up and down the bike path and individuals that were back here behind Smith’s. We just wanted to make sure we were establishing that public safety corridor,” he said.

Coe described the scene as what looked like a mini war zone. Eyewitness Heath Thomann said he couldn’t believe no one was hurt as he told KIDK Eyewitness News and Local News 8 reporters his near-death experience.

“You realize life is short when something like this happens, just counting my blessings,”said Thomann.

Thomann said he was working out at Bell Fitness with several others, when they smelled gas, followed by explosions.

“The windows were just a ball of orange almost like you would see in a movie,” he said.

Coe said a second explosion poured fire in through the front doors and that’s when fitness trainer Scott Edwards led the crowd to the empty child’s play room.

“I believe this is the chair I picked up right here and just took one good swipe,” Edwards explained as he pointed to a chair among the rubble. “It was really hard for people to step out of the window so I just started picking people up and chunking them out there.”

If you have personal property in Bell Fitness, meet emergency personnel at the south end of the Smith’s Grocery parking lot Friday at 3 p.m. to retrieve your belongings. If your vehicle was in the Bell Fitness parking lot and was not destroyed, you can retrieve it at any time.

The AmeriGas facility and several cars were mostly destroyed. Around 3 p.m. Bell Fitness patrons were allowed to retrieve their belongings from the gym, including cars that weren’t damaged.

Those who had vehicles that were destroyed in the explosion were asked to contact Teton County Emergency Operations Center at (307) 733-9572.