Le Mars, Iowa — Firefighters and firefighting equipment from Sioux Center and Orange City assisted at a severe residential explosion and fire in Le Mars on Wednesday morning, July 13th, in which three people are said to have been injured and two homes destroyed.
A Le Mars assistant fire chief actually witnessed the explosion and debris landing in the street, and alerted dispatch to the situation, according to Le Mars Fire Chief David Schipper. He says three people were inside or near the structure when the blast happened. Two people were treated at a local hospital and one was airlifted to a burn center in Lincoln, Nebraska with what Schipper calls “severe burn injuries.”
Schipper tells us that firefighters believe the cause may have been a gas leak, but the investigation continues. Several structures in the area were damaged. He says one of their fire stations is five blocks away and some things were blown off their wall there from the explosion.
There was also “serious fire” in a neighboring home, according to Schipper. He says it was too dangerous for firefighters to enter that home, so it was also claimed by the fire.
