Apr 9, 2009 9:12 am US/Central
3 Injured In House Explosion, 1 Critically
Bridgette Bornstein
BIG LAKE TOWNSHIP, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Three people were injured and airlifted to different hospitals on April 8, 2009 after a house in Big Lake exploded and caught fire.
CBS
Three people had to be airlifted to the hospital after being badly burned in a house explosion in Big Lake Township Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office, 79-year-old Laddy Cusick and his 79-year-old wife, Ramona, were moving into the house when they smelled gas. The couple was moving from Mesa, Ariz., and bought the home in January.
Another couple Chester and Mary Richardson were helping the Cusicks move into the home.
After airing out the garage from the gas smell, and checking appliances in the house, they began moving belongings into the home. As they were moving in a mattress, the house exploded and then caught fire.
"They were moving [the] mattress at the time and that is probably what cushioned him from the explosion," said Big Lake Fire Chief Tony Eisinger, about Chester Richardson.
All four people were able to get out of the home.
Darlene Anderson was raking in her yard when she heard the blast.
"I was in the yard on the other side of our house and I heard a boom. I thought maybe it was something with our trailer," said Anderson. "When I came around I could see that there was debris that was spread, smoldering and flaming a little bit in the lawn across the street."
The fire chief said the force of the explosion sent fragments of the home as far as 75 feet away.
The Cusicks were airlifted to area hospitals. Ramona Cusick was in critical condition Thursday at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where Laddy Cusick was in fair condition.
Mary Richardson is listed in serious condition at Hennepin County Medical Center. Again, Chester Richardson was not injured in the explosion.
Firefighters on the scene say the home is a total loss.
According to the sheriff's office, the couple did smell gas at the home on Monday and called a gas company. The gas company sent a repairman and that person checked the home and didn't find any problems.
If you smell gas in your home, leave immediately and call the gas company from a neighbor's home.
Includes information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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