Two brave Des Moines residents are credited with risking their own lives to save a neighbor on Thursday. The small house on the capitol city’s northeast side exploded about 4:30 in the afternoon, raining debris on homes next door. Fire was immediately shooting out the broken windows.
Neighbors say they’d rarely seen the man who lived in the house as he had a medical condition. The men burst inside and found the man — who reportedly weighs 600 pounds and can’t walk. They managed to drag him from the flames and literally rolled him outside and across the street to safety.
The unidentified man has some burns, but he’s expected to survive. The cause of the blast and fire, which gutted the house, is under investigation.