Six Lakes, MI – SIX LAKES What started out as a normal afternoon for the Dolson family turned into a shocker.
Quite literally.
Just around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Todd Dolson was upstairs in his Six Lakes home when he heard a loud bang and felt his whole house literally move under his feet.
It felt like the whole house jumped, he said. It was like a bomb went off.
Apparently, a propane line located under the house ruptured causing an explosion which rocked the house, located at 5652 West Howard City Edmore Road in Six Lakes. The explosion blew out the eastern wall of the house by a few feet causing the roofline of that side of the house to sag. The foundation also was severely cracked by the explosion.
At the same moment of the explosion, Dolson’s wife, daughter and son were downstairs in very close proximity to where the explosion took place. Luckily, no one was injured in the blast and everyone was able to vacate the house.
If it would have really exploded, we would have been in some real hurt, Dolson said. Everybody got out and that’s what really matters.
A propane explosion caused the eastern side of this Six Lakes house to bulge out. It also caused a roofline sag and cracked the foundation. Daily News/Brad Klosner
Prior to the explosion, the Dolsons were unaware anything was amiss with their propane lines.
There was no smell, Dolson said. Nothing. I’m just shocked.
Despite the explosion, there was no fire. Belvidere Township Fire Department Firefighter Gary Daily said a minor propane explosion, like the one at the Dolsons’ house, has a tendency to suck all the oxygen from the air, starving any potential fire from the fuel it needs.
Propane lights so fast and eats all the oxygen before it can ignite to maintain a fire, he said. We’ve seen it before.
The fire department arrived within minutes of the 911 call to Montcalm County Central Dispatch, something Dolson said he is grateful for.
They got here real fast, he said.
Firefighters surveyed the scene and immediately called Rural Gas and Appliance and Consumers Energy to disconnect all the utilities to the house. In this sort of propane explosion situation, people are much more likely to be injured by power lines than fire, Daily said.
When a house jumps, the electric lines get stretched and stripped, he said. We have to keep people out and away because of the possibility of open wires.
The fire department contacted the Red Cross to aid the Dolsons after the catastrophe which struck on Wednesday. The cause of the explosion is unknown and the situation remains under investigation.
Montcalm County Emergency Services also responded to the incident.