Cedar Falls, IA – A Cedar Falls man critically injured in an explosion at his apartment Saturday has died, according to Cedar Falls Police.
Matthew D. Ferleman, 43, died late Saturday from his injuries at University Hospitals in Iowa City. He was living in Apartment 4 of the Shady Rest apartment complext at 2008 Center St. in Cedar Falls when the building exploded about 1:25 p.m. Saturday.
Services for Ferleman are pending at Richardson Funeral Service in Cedar Falls.
One person was hospitalized and nine apartments temporarily condemned after an explosion at the Shady Rest apartment complex Saturday afternoon.
The unidentified male, found outside of the structure with burns covering much of his upper body, was the sole person in the apartment where the explosion occurred about 1:25 p.m. at 2008 Center St., said Cedar Falls Fire Rescue officials.
The injured man was taken to UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital in Waterloo by Sartori paramedics in critical condition, according to a release from Cedar Falls Fire Rescue.
Cedar Falls fire officials said they suspect the cause was a natural gas explosion. The state fire marshal’s office has been called in to assist with the investigation.
The explosion in Apartment 4 blew out the front and the back of that apartment. Surrounding apartments also sustained some damage, and the American Red Cross was called into assist the 10 people displaced in Apartments 1-9.
“I felt like a boom, like something huge,” said a woman who lives in Apartment 10 who asked not to be identified. I was in bed, and it shook me right out of bed. I thought a tree branch had fallen and hit the building. I was wrong.”