La Porte, IN – A natural gas explosion is suspected in a fire Wednesday that left a 72-year-old woman dead and another woman in critical condition, officials said.
Lois K. Plotner, 72, died Wednesday afternoon at a Chicago-area hospital after an explosion and fire just before 8 a.m. at her home in the 100 block of Woodward Street in LaPorte.
Emergency crews found Plotner and another woman were found outside their apartment home. They were flown by helicopter to hospitals with burns over most of their bodies.
Plotner was pronounced dead at 2:16 p.m. Wednesday at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Her cause of death was pending.
The second woman was in critical condition, LaPorte Assistant Fire Chief A.C. Pressler said Thursday morning. He did not have the name of the hospital to which she was taken.
The cause of the fire is suspected to be a natural gas explosion. However, the fire remains under investigation by the LaPorte Fire Department and Indiana fire marshal.
A neighbor said Wednesday he was taking his dogs out when he heard what sounded like a “big rush of air.”
Next, he saw “a bunch of stuff blow out of their back door” and heard people screaming to call 911.
Firefighters arrived and found flames shooting out of a first-floor window.
One of the women lived in a downstairs apartment. The other woman resided in a second floor unit.