Body found in house

McCOOK, Neb. -- The search of a McCook house while clearing it of a build-up of natural gas on Thanksgiving afternoon led to the discovery of a body in the basement.

McCook Police Chief Ike Brown said this morning that the body of a deceased adult male was discovered in the basement of the house at 108 West J Street late Thursday afternoon. Brown said the incident is being investigated by his officers in conjunction with the office of county coroner Paul Wood.

Neither Wood nor assistant coroner Phil Lyons were available for comment this morning.

Brown said that police officers had tried to contact the resident of that house in regard to an investigation at 1:52 p.m., and smelled natural gas as they approached the house. Brown said officers saw through the door that a decorative candle was burning. They gathered up two dogs who were inside the house's enclosed front porch and backed out to contact the fire department.

Brown said that nearby houses, three in each direction, were evacuated because of the extreme danger of explosion and fire. Gas officials shut off the natural gas to the house, and electrical power was shut off to the entire block.

Brown said there had been no explosion and/or fire because the concentration of gas was so high, there was no oxygen to sustain an explosion. The danger of explosion and fire increased as the oxygen level increased inside the house and the gas level decreased, nearing a critical point at which an ignition source (such as the candle) could cause an explosion. Source Gas personnel were on the scene to monitor gas/oxygen levels.

Brown said that firefighters in breathing apparatus entered the house, extinguished the candle and started ventilating the house by opening doors. They also searched the house for other possible ignition sources.

It was then that the body in the basement was found.

Brown declined to comment on the death, saying that any further information on it and what caused the gas leak or how long it had been leaking would come from the county coroner's office.

The name of the deceased man has not been released, nor has the name of the owner of the house. The investigation continues.

Neighbors who had been evacuated returned about 4:15 p.m. Electrical power was returned to houses on the same block at about 4:20 p.m.

Brown praised the good work and professionalism of the personnel of the police and fire departments. "They're a terrific bunch of folks who work so well together," Chief Brown said. "They did a remarkable job of keeping the neighborhood safe and dealing with a difficult situation."