5 Hospitalized After House Explosion In Navarro County
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
NAVARRO COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Five people from a small North Texas town remain hospitalized today after the house they were in exploded overnight.
The blast flattened the house in Dawson around 11 p.m. and blew out windows at a church next door.
Friday morning doorframes and bits of insulation were scattered yards away out front. Bill Waller is a friend of the homeowners and looked at the scene in disbelief. "The whole thing is flattened. It's just incredible that something like that can happen."
A small fire after the explosion was quickly extinguished.
What's left of the roof is sagging or on the ground. The blast surprised and frightened residents in the town. Dozens of people called the Dawson Police Department after they heard the explosion.
Dawson police chief Michael Carter says the two homeowners and three other people were inside at the time when the blast happened. Three of those people were taken by air ambulance to Parkland Hospital in Dallas and the other two were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Carter said, "One is in the ICU and two patients are in trauma."
Waller said his two dear friends -- the owners of the house -- were injured and that he's going to Parkland to be with them. "That just really rocked me," he said. "They are good Christian people up in years, just kind of playing out their life. They are just salt of the earth type of people."
Chief Carter said they still don't know how or why the explosion happened. "The state fire marshal is going to be called in to do an investigation into what possibly caused this incident."
Police say the house ran on propane and not natural gas, but as it stands the propane ahs not been linked to the blast.
Dawson is about 70 miles south of Dallas.
