By Leah Thorsen
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
Copyright 2006 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
CARLINVILLE, Mo. — A deafening blast knocked the tools off the walls of Jim Costello’s auto repair shop Wednesday morning.
When Costello stepped outside, he saw a one-story house less than half a block away flattened by the blast. Debris fell from the sky — burning shingles, books, pillows and wood crashed to the ground around him. A young boy lay facedown on the sidewalk.
“He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t breathing,” Costello said.
A man whose clothes had been burned off stumbled across the street.
Costello, 44, heard shouts for help and a woman’s screams coming from the debris-filled basement of the leveled home at 203 Sue Street. Next door, another house was on fire, and an elderly woman cried for help.
“It was unbelievable,” Costello said.
The explosion killed Margaret Hatlen, 55, who was later found dead in her basement, and her 9-year-old grandson, Michael Albracht. Three others were sent to the hospital.
Costello and other rescuers were able to pull Cody Hatlen, 15, from below the burning rubble, he said. The fire was still too hot for anyone to climb in to get to him, so they threw him a chain. He was too weak to grab it, but they were able to drag him out by getting the chain around his waist.
“His body was burned everywhere, and he couldn’t think right,” Costello said. “I wouldn’t be able to think right either.”
They couldn’t get to Margaret Hatlen. And there was no helping her grandson, who lay dead on the sidewalk. The boy had been spending the night with his grandmother, authorities said.
Her two sons, Tom and Cody Hatlen, who lived in the house, were taken to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Ill.
Tom Hatlen, 27, was listed in good condition there late Wednesday. He suffered burns to 30 percent of his body, authorities said.
Cody Hatlen suffered burns to his entire body, authorities said. He was listed in critical condition at the same hospital.
The condition — and name — of the woman next door, who was described as elderly, was unavailable. Authorities said she suffered a severe cut.
Police Chief David Haley said a natural gas leak likely caused the explosion. Lights around the Macoupin County town of 5,800 flickered at the time of the blast, and many residents lost power for a while.
AmerenIP provided electricity and natural gas to the house.
“Our top experts are investigating,” said Ameren spokesman Leigh Morris. “The preliminary investigation showed our system operating normally. What may have occurred on the other side of the meter, we don’t know.”
The state fire marshal’s office was investigating. No damage estimates were available Wednesday.
At least 15 other homes in the area were damaged, as well as several businesses.
Haley said police had learned that people had smelled natural gas in the area Tuesday evening, but that no one had called Ameren or police.
The area around the house, roughly 10 blocks from the city’s downtown, bustled with activity the rest of the day.
Firefighters continued monitoring the fire. Neighbors worked to repair broken homes. Makeshift stations to give out food and water were set up.
Less than 100 feet from the scene of the blast, Stacey Rouse and her family watched everything from their front porch. The explosion blew in the doors of her house and knocked it off its foundation, she said.
“It sounded like close thunder,” she said.
Rouse said that Margaret Hatlen’s husband, Ed, died about a year ago. He had run a towing business in town.
The loss of the two lives is devastating to the town, said Haley, who described the family as well-known and respected.
Said Haley: “They were like family to a lot of people in town.”