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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A woman is dead and another woman is injured after a house exploded in River Falls, Wisconsin on Monday night.
City officials say it happened on the 400 block of River Hills Road. One victim was taken to River Falls Hospital, while the other was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.
A neighbor told WCCO that one of the victims, who is a grandmother, was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The other victim was her daughter, who suffered minor burns.
On Tuesday afternoon, River Falls Police Chief Gordon Young confirmed 75-year-old Martha Gaustad died. The second victim, identified as 42-year-old Kari Gaustad, is in the hospital in stabilized condition.
Officers say neighbors helped pull at least one of the victims out before the rescue team arrived. The neighborhood hasn’t stopped trying to help since.
“We were following the NextDoor app and there were so many people talking on there and saying that how they want to help the occupants when they come home and see that they’re OK,” said Barb Shepherd, who lives about a block and a half away.
Shepherd and her husband John say the explosion was so powerful, it knocked open their cupboard doors.
“And then the neighbor called and said, ‘Look out the window,’ and we had a clear shot all the way, and the flames were twice the height of the house,” said John Shepherd.
Officials say the cause of the explosion is under investigation, but foul play is not believed to be involved.
NEW VIDEO of the fire following an explosion of a River Falls, WI home. Neighbor who rescued a grandmother inside tells me she’s in critical condition, and that she was there with her daughter, who was blown clear. Minor burns @WCCO pic.twitter.com/hOcsecJ3gz
— David Schuman (@david_schuman) February 2, 2021
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