Officials have found one body in the remains of a house that exploded around 12:30 p.m. Thursday about two miles southwest of Emporia.
A witness passing the house at 1405 Road F saw the roof blow up, officials confirmed at the scene. According to public records, the home is owned by Geraldine Richard.
Throughout the afternoon, Richard's neighbors and family members stood anxiously outside the yellow sheriff’s tape that cordoned off ever-widening sections around the scene. A friend of the family gathered up photographs strewn outside the house and handed them to Richard's relatives.
Fire Chief Jack Taylor told The Gazette that around 5 p.m. a body was found in the house, but he had no identification of who the victim was.
The district coroner was at the scene later in the afternoon as well as investigators from the Emporia Fire Department and state fire marshal's office.
Firefighters from Emporia, Chase County, Lyon County and Olpe are working to extinguish the fire. Also on the scene are at least four Lyon County sheriff’s deputies, the local Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer and an ambulance on standby. Firefighters in water trucks kept a steady pace as they emptied their loads on the fire and returned for refills from a water hydrant on Lockerman Road west of South Prairie Street.
gardnerbilly (anonymous) says...
I send my condolences to the family and friends. This was truly a tragedy. May god bless.
October 13, 2006 at 9:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )