Grand Rapids, MI- Herald-Review – Miraculously, nobody was seriously injured after an explosion and the resulting fire leveled a mobile home in rural Grand Rapids with at least six occupants. The explosion also caused the evacuation of eight nearby residences.
At 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, the Grand Rapids Fire Department was paged out to the explosion of the mobile home which was located on Lot 30 at the Country Acres Mobile Home Community on Diane Lane in rural Grand Rapids.
According to Itasca County Sheriff Pat Medure, Tyson Ray Stockwell, 27, lit the kitchen range and a terrific explosion resulted. The sheriff said the explosion may have been the result of a propane gas leak.
Stockwell and five other people were transported to Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital in Grand Rapids with minor injuries. They were identified as Melissa Ann Butterfield, 33; Trevor Stockwell, 1; Jaedon Alec Felcyn, 9; Chasidea Kaelca Butterfield, 13; and Courtney Lynn McCoy, 1.
The mobile home was consumed by the resulting fire. Medure said that approximately eight other residences were evacuated in the fire area. He added that besides the mobile home, the only other loss was an all-terrain vehicle that was parked at the home next to the destroyed residence.
Dale Rosier, chief of the Grand Rapids Fire Department, said, We really dont have much information yet other than the cause was an explosion, Rosier said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.