(Updated) Man missing after Hillham house explosion
Update: Officials reported the missing man was located deceased Tuesday morning. No further information was available, and officials have not released the victim’s identity.
Police and fire departments suspended the search for a missing man involved in an explosion that destroyed a Hillham home Monday evening.
The explosion that destroyed the house left debris strewn for hundreds of yards around the property, even landing on the county road. Also, a large portion of the structure collapsed into the home’s basement.
Officials plan to return Tuesday morning with equipment to begin sifting through the construction debris. The State Fire Marshal’s office, which is taking over the investigation, also plans on bringing dogs down from Brazil, Ind., to assist in the search.
Officials haven’t released the names of the homeowners, and the cause of the explosion will have to be determined through the state fire marshal’s investigation.
The response began at about 6:10 p.m. when an explosion reportedly heard up to 10 miles away reverberated through Hillham and the surrounding area.
Lost River Township Fire Chief Tim Parke said he had at least 15 people call with reports of the explosion. His home is on the other side of the ridge, “about a mile through the woods from the home,” he said, adding that the explosion blew his storm door in.
“I thought the Texas-Eastern pipe had exploded,” Parke said. “Then, when I got up on the ridge, I could see the smoke and knew it was on the county line.”
Parke was the first person on the scene. He was met with a field of debris and a detached garage engulfed in flames–it was subsequently destroyed by the fire.
He also found the wife in the driveway. “She had just got here,” Parke said.
Because of the potential danger in the unassessed situation, he took her to a neighbor’s home.
By then, Lost River Volunteer Fire Department and French Lick Volunteer Fire Department members were on the scene. They began searching for anyone else who had been in the home or nearby when it exploded and cordoned off the area.
When Parke determined the house was on the Dubois County side of the county line on County Road 1100 East, he had the Dubois Volunteer Fire Department paged out as well.
According to Dubois Fire Chief Steve Kalb, they received the call at about 6:15 p.m. When they arrived with a pumper truck, tanker and a brush truck, the fire was still active.
As of 9:15 p.m., firefighters were still spraying down hot spots, and Kalb expected they would be on the scene for at least another hour.
The Dubois County Sheriff’s Office and Indiana State Police also responded to the scene.
Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter confirmed that at least one person was in the house when it exploded. He added that there was no danger to the public, and they would have deputies remain on the scene overnight to secure it until the investigation could continue Tuesday morning.
It was difficult to walk around the area as debris and pieces of the destroyed home littered the hill adjacent to the property’s driveway and the county road. In the darkness, neighbors removed debris and brushed glass off the roadway to allow vehicles to pass through.
Chief Parke referenced the tornado that hit the area of Windom Road on June 25 as he attempted to assess the scene and its aftermath. “We’ve had destruction but not of that magnitude,” he said. “It is pretty much leveled except the garage, and it burned itself down.”
“Tomorrow will tell the story on what happens next,” he added.
