KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An investigation continues Thursday morning after a house in Kansas City, Mo., exploded shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday. Police are waiting for a search warrant before entering what’s left of the home. Kansas City’s bomb and arson squad are also expected to investigate in an effort to determine what caused the explosion.
When the Kansas City Fire Department arrived, the house, located in the 9100 block of Tennessee Avenue, was fully engulfed in flames. Four people were injured, two adults and two children. One man reportedly lost one or more appendages.
Crews had to fight the fire from the outside because the explosion knocked the home off its foundation, making it dangerous to enter. MGE was called to the scene to check for a possible gas leak, but none was found. KCPD’s bomb and arson is also investigating the incident.
FOX 4’s Eric Burke reported from the scene that neighbors helped pull people from the burning home and many of them pointed to one man in particular named Bryan Lott for his courageous act.
“What goes around comes around, if it was you, you would want someone to do it for you,” Lott said. “I didn’t know how bad he needed help until I saw the extent, I just wanted to help someone.”
That man Lott referenced is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. The other adult victim and two children were taken to hospitals but are expected to recover. A fifth person who was possibly injured was seen at the scene visibly upset and covered in soot, but had not been taken to the hospital.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. KCPD Chief Darryl Forte tweeted on Wednesday night that the house will be guarded overnight and that authorities are awaiting a search warrant to look inside the home. FOX 4 will continue to follow this story on Thursday.
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