By Lindsay Whitehurst
The Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY — A brother and sister were seriously injured Thursday morning when their home’s 250-gallon propane tank exploded in Cache County, leaving the house in a pile of rubble.
Tony Sorensen, 27, was flown to University Hospital with more than 65 percent of his body burned, said Cache County sheriff’s Chief Deputy David Bennett. His sister, 23-year-old Mary Sorensen, was taken by ambulance to Logan Regional Medical Center, according to Bennett.
About 10:30 a.m., an explosion destroyed the home in College Ward, south of Logan, near 2400 West and 2900 South, police said. Seven minutes later, another explosion sparked a fire. Authorities are not yet sure what the second explosion was or what caused either blast.
“The ignition source could have been anything,” Bennett said. “It could have been somebody walking across the floor.”
Bennett said a propane dealer had been to the home the night before, serviced the tank and line and discovered there were some minor leaks in the gas line going into the house. He said the family told the technician they would get the leak fixed themselves.
That means the home could have filled with propane throughout the night, Bennett said.
Ted Ricks, who owns a service station less than a mile from the home, said flames reached 30 to 40 feet high before firefighters reached the scene, he said.
“The house is just leveled,” he said. “There was brown [smoke], and all of a sudden an explosion. The concussion I could feel from here,” he said.
Neighbor Brandon Anderson said he felt the explosion and rushed to the home, where he found Mary Sorensen screaming for her brother. Anderson said he and other neighbors saw Tony Sorensen’s fingers and helped dig the man out from the sheetrock, nails and wood covering him.
“The upper floor just fell in on him,” he said.
According to Anderson, Tony Sorensen told him he was watching a movie and smelled smoke just before the explosion.
Shane Zilles, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy, saw a “mushroom cloud” and ran to the home. The yard was littered with nails, some of which went through his shoes and into his feet, and live electrical wires were everywhere.
“I’ve been to other scenes, but nothing like this where the house is completely leveled,” said Zilles, who was among those who helped free Tony Sorensen. He said the man had burns on his arms and face, as well as a large gash on his leg.
Police said the Sorensens’ parents, who own the home, are on an LDS church mission in Edinburgh, Scotland, and have been notified.
Neighbor Beverly Christensen said the victims are the youngest of nine children, and several of their siblings have homes near their parents.
Propane tanks are common in the area for heating homes and running appliances, such as stoves and water heaters.
Copyright 2009 The Salt Lake Tribune