COON RAPIDS, Minn. — One person was critically injured in a house explosion in Coon Rapids Wednesday afternoon.
Multiple agencies, including the Coon Rapids Police Department (CRPD), responded to the scene.
According to the CRPD, the explosion happened at a home on 104th Avenue around 3 p.m.
CRFD Chief John Piper called an explosion of this magnitude "unusual," saying fire crews arrived to find the house completely flattened.
"I mean, fire departments on a regular basis go on a call where there’s a one-room fire, put it out and it’s pretty routine," he said. "When you have a house completely flattened like this, it's a significant event."
Piper added that four fire departments worked the scene, totaling roughly three dozen firefighters.
The CRPD initially said nobody was inside the house when it exploded, but the CRFD said there was one victim inside the home. Piper said the man remains in serious condition at Hennepin County Medical Center.
"His face was bad, bloody, completely burned," said neighbor Thomas Starnes. "And they said he said it blew him back downstairs, and luckily, he was able to crawl out somehow."
Homes on both sides of the explosion were impacted and damaged, but Piper said the house directly to the east of the flattened home will likely be a total loss.
Authorities do not yet know how or why the explosion happened, but Piper said investigators are working with experts to determine its cause.
"Is it natural gas? Is it propane? Is it gasoline? There’s a variety of things that cause stuff like this," Piper said, "but you want to make sure you get the local gas company involved to assist with their expertise."
The CRPD and CRFD continue to investigate the explosion with the assistance of the Anoka County Fire Investigation Team and the State Fire Marshal's Office.
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