Devastation at Daybreak as Home Explodes

Early Tuesday morning neighbors helped pull Michael and Mazie Hess from the rubble at the corner of Grover and Schumacher St. in Ellinger after a massive explosion leveled their brick home.

Both Michael and Mazie, who are in their 70s, were flown by helicopter from the scene to Dell Seton. Both were badly burned and underwent surgeries in Austin Tuesday and Wednesday. It is believed the explosion was caused in some way by propane gas, which the couple had connected at their home. A team of investigators were still on the scene Wednesday afternoon trying to determine exactly what happened.

The blast was felt miles away and the force of the explosion scattered debris from the home over a three block radius in Ellinger, with some items even hanging from power lines and 30 feet up in trees across the street.

The explosion also touched off a series of fires at the home, which were put out by the Ellinger and Fayetteville fire departments.

The initial call came in at 6:41 a.m. Tuesday In addition to firefighters, Fayette County EMS Units Medic 1 & 2 responded to the scene with EMS Supervisor’s 1 & 3. Sgt. Ron Naumann and several Deputies from the Sheriff’s Office, and Constable Roger Wunderlich responded to the scene for traffic control. Air Evac and Washington County Air 1 transported both victims by helicopter to Austin. Several homes in the area even blocks away had damage from the explosion but other than Michael and Mazie Hess there were no other reported injuries.