One person has been confirmed dead while another survived after a duplex exploded in American Fork, Utah, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, leveling the property.
Once emergency crews were able to enter the interior of what was left of the duplex, they sifted through the debris and pulled out the victim from the ashes.
Despite providing immediate medical attention, the American Fork Fire Department confirmed the victim did not survive.
Another resident of the duplex, 82-year-old Shirley Hunt, who had lived there for 17 years, made it out alive.
‘I woke up this morning and heard the address on the news and jumped in my clothes and drove here,’ Hunt’s daughter Tammy Beck told local CBS affiliate KUTV.
One woman has been confirmed dead as a result of the duplex explosion
Once emergency crews were able to enter the interior of what was left of the duplex, they sifted through the debris and pulled out the victim from the ashes.
82-year-old Shirley Hunt, who had lived there for 17 years, made it out alive
‘Its a miracle. My mom’s a feisty little thing, so I’m not surprised that she survived, but she has no clue how she made it out,’ Beck told KUTV.
Hunt lived on the side of the duplex that had both gas meters
‘She started crawling out and turned around and realized her house was gone,’ Beck told KUTV
Pictured: The remains of the duplex completely leveled
Beck immediately called her family to tell them what had happened, but one of her sisters had already retrieved Hunt.
Beck told KUTV that her mother said she woke up around 5 am and felt warm, but decided to go back to sleep.
‘She didn’t hear the explosion at all – she was asleep ‘ Beck said.
When she woke up a second time closer to 6 am, Hunt said she felt uncomfortably hot, so she crawled out and realized she was standing on the shingles of the roof.
‘She started crawling out and turned around and realized her house was gone.’
‘Its a miracle. My mom’s a feisty little thing, so I’m not surprised that she survived, but she has no clue how she made it out.’
Hunt ran to one of her neighbors and told them that her house has exploded.
Beck said her mom walked away with a couple of bruises and burns, but given the circumstances, she escaped relatively unscathed.
Hunt lived on the side of the duplex that had both gas meters.
Dominion Energy Services confirmed they were doing routine maintenance to the area the day before the explosion took place.
‘We were notified of an explosion and fire at an American Fork duplex early this morning,’ a Dominion Energy spokesperson told KUTV in an email.
‘Dominion Energy is on the scene to assist the American Fork Fire Department and other emergency crews with the investigation.
‘We are deeply saddened at the tragic loss of life and send our condolences to the family impacted.
‘At this time, we are focused on gathering all the pertinent information to assist with the ongoing investigation.’
Beck told KUTV that gas inspectors said they had found a gas leak in her mother’s duplex.
‘They said that the gas line was eroding, but they said they cleared it and she was okay to go in. That’s all I know,’ said Beck.
Tammy Beck, Hunt’s daughter, told KUTV that her mother said she woke up around 5 am and felt warm, but decided to go back to sleep
When she woke up a second time closer to 6 am, Hunt said she felt uncomfortably hot, so she crawled out and realized she was standing on the shingles of the roof
Beck said her mom walked away with a couple of bruises and burns, but given the circumstances she escaped relatively unscathed
Dominion Energy Services confirmed they were doing routine maintenance to the area the day before the explosion took place
‘At this time, we are focused on gathering all the pertinent information to assist with the ongoing investigation,’ Dominion Energy Services told KUTV in an email
Beck said the gas inspectors said the house was clear after 2-3 hours.
She also confirmed that her mother’s duplex was all electric, so she said she believes the alleged unsolved gas leak was to blame.
The victim, Helen, had a pet dog that survived the explosion.