By Kim McDarison
One person is confirmed dead after a home exploded in Rome Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking on-camera to WISN 12 News reporters during a press conference, officials, including Fire Chief Brad Bowen of the Western Lakes Fire District released details about the explosion, including confirmation that of the two people known to be living in the home, one was found deceased in the rubble.
Information shared by the officials was posted by WISN 12 as a video on Facebook. The full video is found here: https://www.facebook.com/wisn12/videos/1718394551694355.
Sharing a timeline of events, Bowen, flanked by a representative of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and a firefighter with the Rome Fire Department, said that the explosion occurred in the N3000 block of W. Water Street, in the community of Rome.
According to Bowen, at approximately 1:48 p.m., Jefferson County dispatch received a call reporting the house explosion.
Upon their arrival, he said, fire crews found a debris field and began extinguishing the associated fire. Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrived to secure the scene. The fire was reported to have been extinguished at 3:56 p.m. Videos of the debris field and scene of the fire posted on Facebook show scattered debris and a charred foundation where earlier a home once stood.
Bowen noted that the office of the State Fire Marshal was contacted and arrived on scene to begin its investigation into a cause of the explosion.
Responding to questions about a possible cause, Bowen said indications at this scene are similar to those found in previous gas explosions, but until an investigation is completed, the cause of the explosion remains unknown.
During the press conference, officials said information about the deceased individual was being withheld pending notification of family members and “the continuation of the investigation itself.”
Officials confirmed that several fire and EMS agencies from surrounding communities responded to calls for mutual aid, including units from Johnson Creek, Watertown, Ixonia, Western Lakes District, Fort Atkinson, Whitewater, Sullivan, Palmyra, and Lake Country Fire, among others.
Officials noted that a safety and welfare check in the area had been completed by knocking on the doors of residences in the surrounding area to ensure that everyone was safe.
“No other injuries to people within the neighborhood were discovered. However, officials reported, other buildings in the area have sustained structural damage, “such as broken windows and outside damage to the homes that are located adjacent to the affected property,” one official said.
A square mile around the home was evacuated, officials said, “in case of any other issues before the gas was turned off to the home and to the area.”
Everyone else in town is accounted for, officials confirmed.
Bowen said We Energies and investigators would work together to determine if and how much gas may have leaked into the home.
After the explosion, some of the area’s roads were described as heavy with debris, with roads in the area remaining closed as investigators looked at the evidence. Roads would open as investigators allowed with some roads remaining closed to allow We Energies crews to restring electrical wires, officials said.
Officials said crews would work as fast as possible to get roads open and traffic back to normal.
At approximately 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, We Energies was reporting that about 73 customers had been left without power starting at approximately 2 p.m. Crews were working to restore power to the area with an estimated restoration time of 9 p.m.
Amy Jahns, a spokesperson with We Energies, confirmed at approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday that the company’s crews were still unable to access the area.
“We are still not able to access our equipment to restore power at this time,” she said, adding that crews were waiting to be cleared by authorities to enter the area.
An estimated restoration time of power to the homes in the area was unavailable, she said, because the company did not yet know the condition of its equipment.
Fort Atkinson Fire Department Division Chief Mike Lawrence said that assets from the Fort Atkinson Fire Department were dispatched to the explosion site at approximately 1:57 p.m. The department sent a tender, which he defined as a tank that holds water, and an engine. All of the department’s units were back at the station by 5 p.m., he said.
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