Minnesota propane explosion prompts safety warning from state fire marshal
MINNEAPOLIS — A father and five of his sons are in the hospital recovering from a propane explosion that happened in northern Minnesota on Monday.
The state fire marshal said a cigarette lighter ignited a leaking propane tank.
"It is an absolute miracle from the lord that they are still here," said Dimitri Frank, the oldest brother to the five boys.
Randy Ritchie and his sons: Zander, Tannen, Keegan, Kaeto and Braedynn, were at the storage unit to pick up toys for a birthday, Frank said. All six were burned in the blast, and airlifted hundreds of miles away to the burn unit at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.
"Not out of the woods yet, but it's going in a positive direction," said Frank on the family's recovery. "They've all been responding to surgeries pretty well so far."
Despite the progress, Frank said the boys and their dad are still in critical condition and still intubated. They are responding, but unable to speak.
The boys' mother says there will be a long road ahead with many surgeries.
Propane safety is especially important, as we head into the winter months, fire officials said.
"They occur more often than we would like, and more often than the average person would think," said Minnesota State Fire Marshal Daniel Krier.
Krier said to store propane tanks outside and installing smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and explosive gas detectors in areas with the tanks. Never assume a tank is empty. Even a small amount of gas can be explosive.
One sign of a leak is a rotten gas smell. Krier warns people should leave the area if that happens.
"That's what we need, everyone to practice back out and call 911," said Krier.
Frank said his brothers and step dad should have a full recovery, after several more months in the hospital.
"The fact that they're all alive and no internal injuries or anything, that's super super major. That's a godsend. We are just unimaginably grateful," said Frank.
