Harvard, IL – HARVARD A propane gas explosion from a water heater destroyed a house Wednesday afternoon and sent an occupant to the hospital with second-degree burns.
Firefighters responded to the three-bedroom home at 17615 Altenberg Road in rural Harvard shortly before 5 p.m., Harvard Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Bryan Pierce said. The fire is under investigation, but Pierce said the cause appears to be an explosion of leaking propane gas to a water heater.
We believe there was a propane explosion from the way the structure looked, Pierce said.
The home, with a ground floor and a finished basement living area, is a total loss, Pierce said.
The injured occupant was taken to Centegra Hospital Woodstock and later moved to a burn unit at another hospital. Pierce said the occupant’s injuries were not life-threatening.
No firefighters were injured.
Fire departments from McHenry, Boone and Winnebago counties in Illinois, and Walworth County, Wis., aided Harvard.