CENTERVILLE, IOWA -- Six people battling a house fire in Centerville, Iowa, were injured when the home exploded.
It happened Sunday morning at 1202 Drake Ave.
Officials say a transformer blew, and just before 9 a.m. they received reports of a fire at the home. The woman who lived in the house was out for a walk when the fire broke out.
Centerville Police Chief Tom Demry tells KTVO a squirrel got into the line, which caused the transformer to blow. The cause of the fire and the subsequent explosion remain under investigation. Demry said the squirrel will probably be a contributing factor.
“The state fire marshal's office investigators are here along with Centerville Fire Department and Alliant Utilities and then the police department as well. They're still trying to determine at this point, they're not for sure when they will, or if they will have a determination of what happened,” Demry said.
Firefighters were in the home for about 40 minutes battling the blaze when the explosion occurred.
Four Centerville firefighters—Nick Hindley, Vern Milburn, Jeremy Hudson and Tony Caraccio—were injured in the explosion. Phil Hudson, a firefighter from Mystic, Iowa, also suffered injuries. He was driving by and stopped to help when he saw the blaze.
The sixth person injured was a citizen named Richard Hayes.
As of Monday night, Milburn remained hospitalized at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. A spokeswoman told KTVO he was listed in good condition. The other four firefighters have been released.
Demry says all six are expected to recover from their injuries.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKTVO