One dead in Waterloo house explosion; power knocked out to 300 addresses

WATERLOO — One man is dead after an overnight house explosion in Waterloo.

Neighbors called 911 around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday immediately following the blast on Sager Avenue.

"The explosion and shock waves could be heard from miles away," said Fire Marshal Brock Weliver with Waterloo Fire Rescue.

The identity of the victim hasn't been released and the cause hasn't been determined.

The explosion leveled the single-story home at 1801 Sager Ave., killing the resident inside, damaging nearby homes and sending debris — pieces of the house and personal items including clothing, baseball cards and music CDs — into the neighborhood.

Windows a block away were shattered, and the power to 300 addresses was knocked out, Weliver said.

Firefighters found a small blaze burning, which was quickly extinguished. The deceased was found in the rubble. His dog survived and was found toward what had been the back of the house near the attached garage, the only part of the structure that remained standing.

As the sun rose, crews with MidAmerican Energy were on the scene to restore electricity as firefighters and police picked through the scene to determine the cause.

Neighbors react

Residents who live near the explosion site said their homes sustained damage in the blast, which they were immediately aware of during the night. Next door neighbor Melissa McAhren said she's never felt anything like this explosion before.

"I thought our house was the one that exploded. The way that it was, you could see like a big fireball just come in," said McAhren. She said debris was raining down from the ceiling and pieces of her window had flown across one of the bedrooms.

"This is not anything I would've expected to wake up to this morning," she said.

Surrounding neighbors like Brian Fisher's mother, who lives on Sheerer Avenue, could hear the explosion but thought the sound could have been caused by something else.

"She thought it was a train that hit her house, and we don't even have train tracks near the neighborhood," said Fisher. He noted the newest addition to his mother's house was damaged by the explosion.

Some neighbors are worried they could experience a similar explosion at their house.

"I mean I was thinking of calling my landlord, being like, 'Can you come over just to check, just in case?'" said Samantha Knavel, a resident on Sheerer Avenue. "... I don't know if that could affect surrounding houses. I don't know if that makes sense, but I want to be safe."

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