House Explodes and Bursts into Flames in South St. Paul, Killing at Least 1 Person, Fire Chief Says

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press

An explosion and subsequent fire leveled a home in a St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb early Thursday, killing at least one person, a fire official said.

The explosion happened just after 6:15 a.m. in South St. Paul, said South Metro Fire Department Chief Mark Juelfs. Firefighters arrived within minutes and quickly extinguished the flames, Juelfs said. An initial search of the demolished home turned up one person dead inside the garage.

Authorities haven’t yet identified the person and don’t yet know if there were other people in the house, Juelfs said. “We can’t confirm whether there are additional victims until we sort through a lot of the debris,” he said.

Fire officials are working with local police and public works officials to determine the cause of the blast, Juelfs said.

South St. Paul is a city of about 21,000 about 8 miles (13 kilometers) south of St. Paul.