UPDATE 4:08 PM:
The state Fire Marshal’s office released this update on the explosion.
“Two people were inside the house at the time of the explosion. One person resided at the residence and one person was a heating and cooling repair person. An adult male was transported from the scene to the University of Iowa Burn unit. The body of an adult female was recovered from the debris and pronounced dead at the scene. The names of the fatality and injured persons are not being released pending family notifications.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation by the Iowa State Fire Marshal Division, along with the Gladbrook/Garwin Fire Departments.”
Previous story:
One person was killed and another injured in an explosion that ripped apart a farm home northwest of Garwin early this morning. Tama County Sheriff Dennis Kucera says four area fire departments were called to the home in rural Garwin, directly south of Union Grove State Park. “Agencies were dispatched, they found a house that was spread all over the yard and burning,” Kucera says.
The sheriff says one person was found outside and taken to the hospital. “After the fire was distinguished, there was a deceased body found in the rubble of the fire,” according the Kucera. One media outlet reported a service technician was working on the furnace at the time of the explosion. Kucera says he cannot confirm that until he hears from an investigator on the scene from the State Fire Marshal’s office.
He says there is nothing left of the home. “It was blown off the foundation and burned,” Kucera says. The names of the victims have not yet been released. The explosion happened around nine o’clock.