Propane gas leak to blame for home explosion, officials say

HMN - Propane gas leak to blame for home explosion, officials say

Originally published on KOCO

HMN - Propane gas leak to blame for home explosion, officials say

OKLAHOMA CITY —

Investigators blame a propane gas leak for an explosion that leveled a home near Memorial and Midwest Boulevard Thursday morning.

“I hear people screaming outside, there was a large explosion, someone’s house exploded,” a caller can be heard telling the 911 dispatcher.

The blast could be felt across the metro. Neighbors said they thought it was an earthquake.

Insulation from the home fell from the sky, blanketing the neighborhood.

Shawn and Tanda Maguire, and their son, Haden, were seriously injured in the blast. Their daughter, Berkley, died.

Investigators said they believe a “log lighter” was leaking gas into the home and sparked the blast. Investigators said the lighter could have been in the home before the family moved in.

“All these new construction that’s going up, people’s putting in log lighters. We’re working with all city officials and city code officials to let these people know, ‘Hey, these log lighters are illegal; they do not have a pilot safety shutoff,’” said Nicholas Nadeau, an enforcement officer with the Liquified Petroleum Gas Administration.

The investigation is still underway.

Gov. Kevin Stitt said he and First Lady Sarah Stitt are heartbroken. Stitt’s secretary of energy and environment, Kenneth Wagner, said: “We are committed to fully investigating and understanding the cause of the incident in hopes of ensuring something like this never happens again.”

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