Towanda, KS – Mike Kane says he feels lucky to be alive after his house exploded Tuesday afternoon.
Kane says he came home late Tuesday and noticed a heavy propane smell.He went inside and the smell was so strong, he knew he had to get out.As he was leaving, Kane says the house blew up, throwing him through the air and onto his back.
“I don’t know if it knocked me unconscious or not because I kind of came to my senses of what was going on and I was laying on my back in the debris so I rolled over and started crawling,” Kane said in an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News.
He crawled out of the home and suffered only minor injuries.
He says he didn’t realize just how badly the home was damaged until he returned on Wednesday.
“I didn’t get to really, because I was kind of in shock and I didn’t get to see it,” Kane said. “But, I see it now and it’s amazing.I don’t know how I got out of there.”
Investigators say a propane leak is to blame for the blast but aren’t exactly sure what ignited the propane.
“It doesn’t happen a lot but as you know, propane is very dangerous,” said Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet. “He’s just a very lucky man to only have minor injuries and be released from the hospital like he was last night.”
Some items inside the home might be salvageable but the house is a total loss. Despite being shook up by the incident, Kane and his family said they’re just thankful the most important had already been saved.
“I don’t know how I got out of there without getting severely injured,” said Kane. “But I did. I had the good Lord looking after me. That’s the way I feel about it.”
Kane and his wife, who was not home at the time, are staying at an area hotel through the American Red Cross.