Explosion Destroys Mont. House, Damages Others

An Anaconda woman, her son and his girlfriend narrowly escaped serious injury Wednesday night when the house they had been painting exploded minutes after they left the premises.

Donna Schrenker had stopped by the house in the 300 block of West Third Street Wednesday night after work. Schrenker and the other two had been painting the house and fixing it up in preparation to rent it. They had already moved most of their belongings to the house.

"It was 15 minutes after 11," Schrenker told The Montana Standard Thursday. "I said, 'We've been here all day. Let's go home and get some rest.' "

Anaconda police got the call that the house on West Third Street exploded at 11:17 p.m.

Schrenker said she had just opened the door of her truck when the house exploded, causing glass and debris to fly over her vehicle. The windows in her vehicle also blew out. She was not hurt.

But her son and his girlfriend, who had gotten into his truck parked in an alley behind the house, thought Schrenker was still inside. He came running up the street.

"God must have had a better plan for us all," Schrenker said. "We should have been dead."

The blast damaged surrounding homes, with the house next door receiving the brunt of the blast. Anaconda Police Chief Tim Barkell said the left wall is bowed in and the windows shattered. Windows also shattered in other neighboring homes and in cars parked on the street.

Neighbors were evacuated to motels. Barkell said the Red Cross paid for the motel rooms. Some neighbors had returned to their homes on Thursday, Barkell said.

Schrenker and her family returned to the apartment they were getting ready to move out of after being released by medical personnel at the scene.

The street remained cordoned off throughout Thursday while the fire marshal investigated and debris was cleaned up.

The fire marshal determined natural gas caused the explosion, Barkell said.

However, Claudia Rapkoch, director of corporate communications for NorthWestern Energy, said company investigators have been to the scene but found no leaks in the area. She added that the house was old and the appliances will need to be looked at. She stressed that the investigation is far from over.

"We have to go through a methodical process to see if, indeed, natural gas entered into the home," Rapkoch told the Standard.

The owners of the house live in Opportunity, Barkell said.

Schrenker said she did not have renter's insurance and she lost most of her belongings in the explosion. She said she is still trying to process what happened.

"Today we would have moved in," Schrenker said Thursday. "It completely wiped off the block. It was pretty devastating."

———

Visit The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont.) at www.mtstandard.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC