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Subscribe to RSSA 12-year-old girl was killed and four other family members were injured when their house exploded in New York's Niagara County. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
A home explosion in Wilson, N.Y., has killed a 12-year-old girl and injured four other members of the household.
Seven people lived in the two-story house, which was leveled by the blast Tuesday morning just after 6 a.m. Two of the children weren't home at the time because they stayed with friends overnight, The Buffalo News reported.
When firefighters arrived, several fires were still burning in the wreckage. After digging through the rubble, they found the body of a 12-year-old girl, identified as Sarah Johnson, inside the collapsed home.
A firefighter pauses in front of a house destroyed by an explosion in Wilson, New York, Tuesday.
Four other members of the Johnson household -- a mother, father, and two other kids -- were found in a ditch, injured. Two were taken by helicopter to Erie County Medical Center; the other two were taken by ambulance to local hospitals and then transferred to Erie County Medical Center.
In a press conference Tuesday, Niagara County Undersheriff Michael Filicetti said the injured suffered burns and lacerations. Officials were still working to determine the cause of the blast, he said, which shook neighbors' pictures off the walls.
A man who lives next door told NBC affiliate WGRZ.com the explosion was so forceful, it blew his basement windows out.
“I’ve been in the fire company 47 years, and this is the worst I’ve ever seen,” Richard Townsend of the South Wilson Fire Company told The Buffalo News.
Firefighters were shutting off propane tanks that supplied fuel to the area.
Wilson, a village in Niagara County, is located along Lake Ontario, about 30 miles outside of Buffalo.
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Leave a Comment:
Crazy!
I wonder what caused the explosion? Maybe it was some stupid gun owner who had tons of gun powder in his home to reload ammunition? I guess that we'll find out whenever the fire marshal tells us.
OMG, Shandril, get a freakin' life. Name one time that has EVER happened.
Idiot. Moron. Maroon.
Stupid is as stupid speaks!!
@Shandril
Were you born that way? Gun powder? yeah ok gosh your such a genius. You should have never dropped out of school.
Its nice to see everyone is not placing blame, speculating, drawing conclusions from this short story, nor slinging inflammatory unfounded statements,
WHEW! SO REFRESHING!!!!!
I'm not the first to say this but you looked better before the face-lift ( just your eyes ) and the botox.
More than likely this was a gas explosion. Propane, or natural gas. Gun powder is a low explosive, Shandril, as opposed to a high explosive like C-4, dynamite, etc.. A gunpowder stockpile igniting would not cause this kind of blast, unless there were several tons, in a tightly sealed container. You win first prize for the most idiotic comment of the day, so far.
I was gonna go with Meth...
Wow... Shandril, you are definitely not the brightest crayon in the box are you? With every comment you make in these articles you look dumber & dumber. Lol...smh.
Shandril—a 12 year old girl has been killed in a house explosion, and all you are capable of thinking is to use her death for another of your endless sick political brainfarts. What is it like to spend your life hating people to such a high degree?
Your using this girl's death this way is an ice cold selfishness. How can you live with yourself? Aren’t there any mental health centers near were you live?
WOW!! Maybe Shandril's comment was kinda out there, but all you hater's are amazing! All you can do is slam other people. If you don't have anything worthwhile to contribute........DON'T!!
Shandril,
The past couple of weeks I have noticed that your posts are not getting very good reviews and personally, find them pretty selfish & appalling. As Jeff D mentions, a 12 yr old girl died here and that's all yo have to say? Not one word on how bad you feel for her and the family?! Pffft!
Hint, "THINK" what we're going to see in your comment and how we are going to react rather than just "do" and it's obvious as many people already replied directly to you as I am.
On another note, it mentions that it was 6 a.m. or so which is when the family is waking up, making breakfast?lunch for work, showering etc... so I would have to guess that maybe there was a problem with the hot water heater and the gas finally made it up to the stove and made ignition.
Oh man, poor girl. R.I.P sweetheart................This sucks man! I don't how a family could get through something like this.
rosebud,
My comments above say it all. We're not haters. If you've seen all her comments for weeks, they're all the same or similar to the one above. Finger pointing immediately at NRA, Stupid Gun Owners etc... It never stops and if she's going to continue with stupidity, then she's asking for it.
Have a nice day.
Shandri it looks like you hit raw nerve.After the latest massacre the anti gun control people are getting nervous..But don´t worry.remember its guns that kill people not people,That gun just flew in by itself and murdered those people...We need VERY stict gun control!..Or should we put cyanide in every house.After all .the cyanide sitting there is harmless until someone drinks it or poisons someone. And that little girl that was killed by gang type murderers.With the level of violence and pyschos living in the U.S ..we better do something soon.More guns = more deaths.The NRA should be declared a poisonous terrorist group.The killer in Aurora is a terrorist following a batman fantasy.We all live in Aurora ..These type of massacre will continue until we make it almost impossible to get anything but a pistol for those whose work make it essential.or a one shot rifle for hunters after a very complete check.Or should we out cyanide on evey corner with a note "I dare you to take it" You´ll see how many people do take it.Guns are the same.!!
Don't think Natural gas was supplied to the area, when a leak occurs Natural gas can do this but is lighter than air and generally Carbon Monoxide detectors go off..Propane is heavier and settles in the lowest part of the basement or crawlspace..
LOL! She's the best troll ever.
Creek Dog, "not haters"?! Really? When somebody calls another person an idiot, moron, stupid, dumb, etc., I call that hateful (not you personally). I found your comment very thoughtful, compassionate and intelligent. I'm just saying that MATURE people should comment without resorting to childish name-calling.
Rosebud, maybe you should take your own advice.
rosebud,
Well, you know what I meant. I didn't read all the comments but I agree, some "do" have childish name calling which does tick me off a little. Hope below doesn't make you think any less of me....
Bart,
They do make medication for your condition however, the side affects are;
But you'll feel better about your surroundings and what's going on in reality.
Have a nice day.
Swan37, she's the best troll ever, cause she isn't kidding. LOL
she is NOT the best troll ever
Ok then, let's see some trolling if you think you can beat her.
Oh I've seen some trolling from Vivian. She has some doozies. Intentional or not, its still undecided.
Ok.... this has to stop now!!! I demand that congress put a ban on houses!!!! Houses blowing up and killing an innocent child and injuring other people. Something has to be done. Who knows when the next house will blow up and kill more people. The FHA is complicit in this. They should be shut down!
LOL if I did a good troll I want to see lots of thumb ups!
gday67,
The spirit is there but remember what TFNJ just said - Intentional or not, its still undecided
God bless and good luck to you in the future
Hmmm! So all you haters couldn't take my comment, so you had to collapse it!! Can't handle the truth?! Well, here it is again:
WOW!! Maybe Shandril's comment was kinda out there, but all you hater's are amazing! All you can do is slam other people. If you don't have anything worthwhile to contribute........DON'T!!
I can't take it!!!!....... must! .......must! ........ must collapse!
I just wanted to say i was friends with the family for a few yrs they ARE very descent, loving, great people. The kind you want as neighbors. The kind of kids you want your kids to be friends with. Into all kinds of sports, play musical instruments, excel in school academically, etc.. It was a propane issue not drugs or guns. You people are twisted. A family has lost their daughter, one of their other daughters is in critical condition because her body is 70% burned, they have lost their home, all their possessions and all you have to say is slanderous.
Kudos to those of you who were defending them, Thank you.
Poor sweet child....R.I.P
So glad there weren't more fatalities.
Meth lab?
Maybe, could've also been a gas leak or a myriad of other things.
Regardless, so sad.
Um, the mention of propane tanks makes me think otherwise. Sounds like a typical gas explosion, caused by a leaking appliance or supply pipe.
Oh agreed, very sad. Loss of life is tragic, especially at only 12.
I hate to say it, but I'm thinking meth lab or something that was caused by people living there. The family was able to get out and jump in a ditch with minor injuries... other than the poor girl who didn't have time to get out. I hope it was a gas explosion. I don't have gas where I live, so I'm no expert, but I would think that a gas explosion wouldn't give a warning... other than smell. But, if it was a case where they smelled it, how did they get out in just the nick of time and not manage to get the 12 year old? If I smelled gas, I would stay in the house to get my daughter out. That's why I think the explosion was expected.
The article doesn't say they "got out just in the nick of time". It says the ditch is where they were found.
The explosion could have propelled them in the direction of the ditch.
Let's all go into judgement mode: How could they have abandoned their 12 year old - I wouldn't have done that.
Let's all go into judgment mode... How could Meth makers abandon their 12 year old?
Nevertheless, a propane explosion can cause as much damage. The only problem is that it has to accumulate a large amount in order to cause so much damage. With 5 people in the home, that doesn't make much sense. Thus, it could be a Meth Lab.
RTSOB -
I know the article doesn't say they got out in just the nick of time. You have to read between the lines. They were found in the ditch and they weren't hurt too bad. If the explosion propelled them into the ditch, they would be in a lot worse shape, because that would mean that bits of the house were propelled with them... and into them. I think (just what I think since I wasn't there and I didn't see it), they ran from the house because it was going to explode and jumped for the ditch when it happened. Or maybe even got injured by the explosion while hiding in the ditch. I'm not "going into judgement mode". I'm just stating what I think might have happened. I could be (and hope I am) wrong, but I think they had some warning. I really doubt they were sitting around the table having dinner or were sound asleep in their beds when it happened.
C.Loffen,
Believe it or not, most times you're better off inside a building than just outside a building when it explodes. I believe they were all inside the house when it exploded and maybe the little girl was on the second floor falling to the first during the explosion.
When the house exploded, they were all in shock and awe, then scrambled out to the ditch in case there was a second explosion after not finding their poor little one.
I'm with RTSOB. I doubt "very" much that a mother and a father are going to smell gas and be the first ones out of the house.
I'll die before putting myself in front of my kids and I'll die trying to save them if they were caught in danger not to mention I'll "kill" for them. Hope there are many other parents out there that feel the same.
Being from this community, I think I can shed some light onto this conversation. As for the "meth lab" theory, absolutely not. These people were very active with their church and community, plus they had four children who did well academically as well as athletically. If you don't believe me, use Google maps to look at their house. Does it look like a meth lab?? No. Both parents had good jobs. Next issue. Some reports had the family found in a ditch. However, interviews with the neighbors said the parents were on their driveway after the explosion, calling out for their daughter (the one who, unfortunately, did not survive). Please do not criticize the parents for not doing enough. They are an amazing family and I can't believe something like this happened to them...
Probably involved meth production
And that was the first thing to come to your mind? Dude you need to stay away from them meth, it's frying your brains.
Hey profreedom talk to shandril, she is overblown with the same speculation,
The go to reason sounds like the propane being turned on. Maybe in the basement the heater? the dryer?
and when it comes out that meth was involved you'll look pretty silly won't ya!? ;)
Not at all. IF it was METH. they have always pointed it out.
Brought in teams with hazardous material handling gear.
And isolate the area for cleanup.
I see no crime tape or cleanup teams.
Pro freedom;
I am from that area it is a rural area not a crack or meth area; So you and the other() know-it-alls don't know what you are talking about. The only things that are produced in that area are Gardens and Caring Americans.
Think before you Write. This is what the Parents of the little Girl want to read in a time of their Grief.
3pm, still looking like propane, ProFreedom. It's even being reported that the family reported a propane smell the day before.
If you get over yourself and want to make up for your baseless slander, you can help the family with a donation. The WGRZ website has info.
ProFreedom, your comment made you sound pro-stupid. "Probably involved meth..." You ought to be ashamed of yourself, but stupid people rarely are.
Comments like that are just people trying to reassure themselves that the victims weren't innocent and something like this can never happen to them.
and when it comes out that meth was involved you'll look pretty silly won't ya!? ;)
Several years ago a friend of mine, who lived across the street, was doing his own pipe fitting on a gas line which caused a leak... Well about 3:30 am, KaBoom went the house, luckily he, his wife and little girl all made it out with minor burns, house totally gone within seconds... I would suspect this was a gas leak also...
Yeah, it amazes me that our houses are really just a bomb waiting to happen. The things we cannot do without.
and based on the comments and thought process of
THAT WAS ALSO A METH LAB!.
Wilson isn't exactly the meth capital of the state; I'd say it was more likely caused by a leaky propane tank, or something connected to said propane tank.
Very sad, poor little girl.
Stove pilot left on, leak. I knew someone who purchased a home, and soon after the stove exploded. The entire front window and wall was blown out. Luckily they weren't home.
Why assume the worst? With a lack of information, this only shows something about yourself, not the victims. It is a very meager news story as is.
If something really bad happened to you would you want people speculating why it was your own fault?
Electricity doesn't explode.
I assume you've never been shocked.
You mean like lightning doesn't "explode", right?
No, but it can ignite gas.
My condolences to the family. I pray that it wasn't a meth lab explosion.
Peace.
Don't be quick to judge. An innocent child was killed and many injured. Let the news unfold. Better to be a fool with a closed mouth than to speak and remove all doubt.
Could be an old landfill in the area. Methane travels underground from those, builds up in basements of homes, any spark causes explosion. We have had some of those in our state. Of course, the "landfills" were really old municipal dumps that were closed rather than upgraded to include liners and monitoring of pollutants. That open space or old meadow in your area might have more of a past than you think, it may not be "old farmland" after all.
Home explosions can only caused by two things. It's either natural gas or propane. They are the most common home gases. These gases have always scared me. That's why my house is all electric. I can turn off the power to the electric water heater when I go away for awhile. Most people don't turn off their gas water heater because it's a hassle re-lighitng it later. All it takes is a small leak anywhere in the house and the pilot light in the heater will detonate it.
I put my natural gas water heater on the vacation setting when I go away,not completely safe,but not as dangerous as propane,butane,or wood burning stoves IMHO.
Road Warrior, are you also irrationally 'scared' of other things such as, Oh, I don't know; guns maybe, flying in an airplane, being outside during a thunderstorm, or falling in a bathtub?
Therapists can help with such neuroses, if you are willing to be helped. For me, I greatly appreciate the lower cost and greater efficiency of gas stove, water heater and furnace in my house. I do not fear the 'gas ogre' but do respect the damage it can do if improperly used, the same respect I have for my automobiles, firearms or power tools. If you aren't willing to be helped, you can keep your 'fear' of natural gas (or propane) and pay the higher cost of electric appliances. For me, I can (and do) shut the gas off to my water heater if I will be gone for more than a weekend, but it is to save a bit of gas, not out of fear of a leak...
Prayers to these folks.... feel i'm going to need to take a break from the news for a while.......
I did the same, and spent most of the time reading tech or entertainment news. Too much depressing crap in the main section.
My heart hurts for this family.
Gas leak expolosions can happen in the summer, not as often. My home is all electric, yes bill is higher, but I have no explosion worries.
My heart goes out to the family
Yea, but electrical fires are more common than having a natural gas explosion. Natural gas is still very, very safe. It's just more dramatic when the rare occurrence does happen. Really takes the perfect storm for a house to even explode from natural gas since there's only a 10% window in which there's the right combination of gas and oxygen to have it ignite.
I've never been scared from natural gas. Electric can start fires, gas can explode, I could be killed in a car accident every time I head to work.
I Pray for this Family...
yep, global warming!
Condolences to the family.
Maybe this is like what happened to my family in Texas in 1960, we lived out of town on a farm had a 500 gal butane tank for fuel, a delivery truck driver overfilled the tank(should have only been filled to 450 gals to allow for expansion due to heat.Increased pressure caused the pilot light in the stove to blow out the house was filled with explosive gas,no one home, but the safety valve on the tank finally opened warning us that something was wrong,we shut down the tank, dad opened a couple windows,we could not go back into the house until the next day.If someone had even tried to turn on a light the explosion would have taken out the whole house.Just my thoughts,I am,of course guessing,but having worked with this stuff,I know it can happen.
ProFreedom would conclude you needed all that butane to run your meth lab.
Just someone trying to kill you Woody.
RIP little Angel
A couple of possibles comes to mind: gas leak, as several have noted, but there is another: if someone was cooking up a batch of meth, you frequently have explosions. Hope that wasn't the case, but always a possible.
SHANDRIL - you my friend are and IDIOT!! f off you stupid B...............
Now now, you should say it nicely..
Shandril, what 619dale is saying is:
Your post is far less than intelligent, and you should go find a new hobby.
TFNJ, thank you for the translation, keep up the good work.