Winnebago, NE – Nebraska state investigators have determined a propane heater malfunction caused a home explosion in Winnebago, Nebraska on Monday.
87 year old Tony Pycha was the only one inside the home when the heater blew up.
Pycha was taken to Mercy Medical Center and later airlifted to an Omaha hospital burn unit and remains in critical condition.
Tony’s family tells KCAU9 News that he suffered multiple broken bones, and second and third degree burns on his face and arms. Doctors hope he is stable enough for surgery by the end of the week.
“We arrived on scene, there was debris that went across the road…it was scattered probably within a 200 feet radius. Visiting with some of the neighbors, the blast was felt probably within a 3 to 4 mile radius of his home” says Isaac Smith, Fire Chief, Winnebago Volunteer Fire Department.
Pycha’s family gathered at the now destroyed home site on Tuesday trying to pick up anything they could salvage.
They told KCAU9 News that he is a caring family man who had lived in the home for 65 years.Friends says Pycha was a proud supporter of Pender Nebraska’s hospital expansion project.
“There’s a lot of people that came together and are willing to help out in whatever way they can for him because there’s nothing left of his house, it was leveled completely” says Isaac Smith, Fire Chief, Winnebago Volunteer Fire Department.