Bolivar, NY — State Police have identified the victim who was found inside a home that exploded over the weekend in the Allegany County town of Alma.
Troopers say Dan Michael Church, 71, was the resident of the home.
Glass, insulation, and other debris still remain at the scene of the explosion on Route 18 in the Town of Bolivar, Allegany County.
“They said actually the roof of the house went about 20 feet above the existing house that was in front of it, the older house that they were getting ready to tear down,” said Jeff Luckey, director of the Office of Emergency Services and Fire for Allegany County, “There was no fireball associated with the fire initially and then it started burning after the roof came back down.”
Officials say the Church’s wife was not at the home at the time of the explosion. A preliminary investigation shows the explosion may have been caused by a natural gas leak in the crawl space of the residence.
“We’re working theory at this time based on the damage the description that it was a natural gas explosion,” Lucky said.
State Police and a number of local agencies continue to investigate this house explosion.