Furnace explosion destroys home; couple, family dog survive

The single-story brick home of Judy and Wally Anderson, on Scott Street in Culbertson, Nebraska, is rocked to its roofline and charred by fire after an explosion Saturday caused by a faulty furnace. Wally suffered minor wounds on his forehead and his hands; Judy was also at home, but neither she nor the family dog were injured. The couple is staying with family members. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette)

CULBERTSON, Nebraska -- Thirty- to 40-mile-per-hour winds weren't the biggest challenge facing Culbertson, Nebraska, firefighters Saturday afternoon. It was that the fire that destroyed the Anderson home had gotten a wicked head start.

"It had a heck-of-a-head start on us," fire chief Richard Sensel said this morning. An explosion in the propane furnace blew out windows, providing plenty of oxygen for the fire and causing what Sensel called "a free burn" within the single-story brick home. "It was tough to handle," he said.

"It's a plum miracle" no one was hurt worse or killed, Sensel said. "That they survived with that much explosion and fire is a miracle."

The owners of the home, Judy and Wally Anderson, were home at the time of the explosion and fire, and were taken by Culbertson ambulance to Community Hospital in McCook, where they were treated and released. Their dog, Felix, a gray poodle, was uninjured.

Sensel said that Wally Anderson had tried to start the furnace and the pilot light was on. Sensel said Anderson said he smelled propane, and then something -- possibly the gas water heater beside the furnace -- sparked an explosion of the leaking propane.

"The fire was throughout the whole house," Sensel said. "Everything was on fire. They lost all their worldly possessions in a matter of seconds."

Sensel said the west bedrooms have extensive smoke, heat and water damage; the remainder of the house -- the furnace is located on the east -- was gutted by the fire.

"It looks like the roof of the house was lifted off and set back down," Sensel said. He worried about his firefighters doing clean-up in the kitchen, living room and family room areas of the house.

"That roof could have come on down," he said.

The north and south exterior brick walls of the house are bowed outward in those areas, as well.

A Nebraska state fire marshal helped investigate the fire, and Sensel said the Andersons' insurance officials will also help determine a cause of the fire and make a damage/loss estimate.

Sensel said 15 firefighters responded to the fire; no one was injured. "They all did a good, good job," he said.