Woman Injured in Wisconsin House Explosion

TOWN OF WINDSOR, Wis. --

Authorities are investigating the cause of a house explosion near DeForest that seriously injured a woman Monday afternoon.

Fire crews responded to the house on Grinde Road in the Town of Windsor around 2:30 p.m. Monday after neighbors reported hearing what sounded like a bomb exploding. "I've never done any war time, but it sounded like a bomb. It was just a huge explosion -- the whole side of the house (was) blown out," said Jeff Davidson, who witnessed the explosion.

Authorities said that a 58-year-old woman was inside the home at the time of the explosion.

Officials said the blast was so powerful that it blew off one side of the home, sent an inferno throughout the remainder of the house and flung debris hundreds of feet onto neighbors' lawns.

"We were initially dispatched for a house explosion with fire and smoke showing. And that quickly escalated, and we got reports almost straight away that there was smoke visible from a distance," said Brent Foss, deputy fire chief at the DeForest Fire Department.

Witnesses said the woman inside the home was badly burned. She was transported by Med Flight to University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.

The sheriff's department said that because of the seriousness of the victim's injures, her name has not yet been released. The victim's condition is also unknown.

Some witnesses said that a propane dryer in the basement was the cause of the blast, but fire officials said the incident is still under investigation and the cause is unknown.

Fire departments from DeForest, Sun Prairie, Arlington, Waunakee and Dane all responded to the blast, and Maple Bluff fire crews helped DeForest with other fire calls.

Grinde Road remained closed on Monday night. Authorities said that the home is a total loss.

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