Explosion levels house in Coon Rapids, injuring a man inside

A house was leveled in an explosion Wednesday afternoon in Coon Rapids, injuring one man inside and damaging both neighboring houses.

Firefighters responded just before 3 p.m. to reports of an explosion in the 800 block of 104th Avenue NW. and found the house flattened, Coon Rapids Fire Chief John Piper said at the scene.

The man who was injured in the explosion was able to make it out of the house on his own, Piper said. Firefighters upon arrival found the man outside, and he was taken to HCMC's burn unit in serious condition.

By 5 p.m. crews had the fire mostly put out and were working on remaining hot spots. The house is in a residential area near Woodcrest Park, and the street was taped off for several hours while crews worked to put out the flames and investigate the cause.

The explosion's fire spread to the neighboring house to the east, which was significantly damaged. Some of its walls had collapsed in. Piper said it's possible that house could be a total loss.

The house to the west sustained less-severe explosion damage, and its windows had broken, Piper said. He declined to discuss what might have caused the explosion, saying it was too early into the investigation.

"I'm not going to speculate what happened. It's going to take some time to determine that," Piper said.

Numerous fire trucks lined the streets of the residential area, and four additional fire agencies responded to assist, Piper said.

Neighbors said they heard the explosion and then felt their homes shake.

"It shook the whole house," said Laurene Powers, who lives nearby. "It blew the fans out of my windows, so hard that the blades are rubbing now on the sides."

Bob Nahl said he was sitting outside his garage around the block when he heard the explosion and saw smoke and ash blowing above the house.

"The garage door was vibrating," he said.

Piper noted this is the first house explosion he can remember responding to in the 41 years he's worked with the department.