Dobbin, TX – Three people were critically injured Tuesday morning in Montgomery County after a house exploded in the community of Dobbin, scattering debris for half a mile.
Eight-month-old Wyatt Mock was flown to UTMB-Galveston for treatment of severe head trauma and burns to 56 percent of his body, according to family member Corbin Mock.
The infant’s grandmother Jennifer Mock, 58, and his great-aunt Lena Knight, 65, were transported by helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Both women were in critical condition in the John S. Dunn Burn Center, the hospital confirmed Tuesday night.
A UTMB-Galveston spokesman declined to provide the child’s condition, citing federal privacy rules relating to children.
Fire Marshal Jimmy Williams said the blast was felt as far away as Lake Conroe and Willis.
“People were finding things from the house on top of the grocery store, in trees, and at least a half a mile away,” said Corbin Mock.
He said the house was leveled to the slab, with debris everywhere.
LP gas exploded
Williams said the blast was fueled by liquid petroleum gas, and that the resulting debris covered an area the size of a football field.
“At this time, investigators suspect that the explosion resulted from a build-up of flammable gases in and around the home,” according to a press release from the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office. “But the exact cause has not be determined at this time.’
The family told KPRC (Channel 2) in Houston that the explosion occurred as one of the women turned on the stove while they were preparing breakfast.
Corbin Mock’s father and uncle work at Mocks Grocery Store, which is within walking distance of the home.
Kenny Mock, co-owner of the store with his brother, said the blast blew out four of the store’s windows and knocked a lot of merchandise off shelves.
“I thought my gas pumps had blown up,” he said. “It almost knocked me down.”
Passers-by rush to help
The first person to arrive at the scene was a Consolidated Communications employee working in a building across the street, investigators said. He and a Department of Public Safety trooper were joined by area residents and passers-by to rescue the victims, the press release states.
David Jones, who lives about a mile away, said his wife heard the blast at their home. He and three other men from Lone Star Cowboy Church brought plywood to board up shattered windows on neighbors’ houses.
The fire marshal and the Texas Railroad Commission will be conducting a joint investigation into the cause of this explosion and fire. The commission is the state agency charged with regulating LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas.
Dobbin, about halfway between Conroe and Navasota, has about 300 residents.