Glasgow Resident Badly Burned in Home Explosion

An explosion of currently unknown origin demolished and burned a northwestern Glasgow home Friday, June 10, at 6:22 a.m. badly injuring the occupant and completely destroying the home. According to Brandon Brunelle, Glasgow's Fire Chief, "There was an explosion followed by the house being totally engulfed in flames." He added that crews from the Glasgow City Fire and Valley County Long Run fire departments responded with a total of three engines and 13 volunteer firefighters. The flames were extinguished within 15 minutes of crews starting work and the fire was completely safe after one hour.

According to Chief Brunelle, Miles City Fire Marshall Jerry Smith came up that same day and conducted an investigation that was inconclusive in determining the cause of the fire. Currently Montana-Dakota Utilities is leading the investigation into the cause of the fire with help from the family's insurance company.

Chief Brunelle stated that there was one male occupant of the house during the explosion that was transported via ambulance to Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital and later transported via air ambulance to Salt Lake City. Chief Brunelle added that the wife and kids of the occupant were elsewhere during the explosion and that both of the family's dogs were found safe.

Tanja Fransen, of the National Weather Service in Glasgow, identified the injured man as Jeff Alexander an electronics technician for the Weather Service in Glasgow. Fransen added that Alexander was currently in critical condition and undergoing treatment for burns covering most of his body at the University of Utah Burn Center, but was conscious and appeared to be in good spirits. "He has such a bright sense of humor that as his close family and friends tease him, he is laughing and smiling. He definitely wants to fight and recover, however long that takes." Fransen said that Alexander was looking forward to June 11, when he was supposed to travel to see his wife, Stephanie Alexander, and two kids who had been staying in Arizona for a few months. "To me this is a story of a man who was getting ready for work on Friday, and was excited to see his family on Saturday and bring them back to Montana, but instead this happened." She lamented.

The Alexander family moved to Glasgow one and a half years ago when Alexander received his job at the Weather Service. Alexander served in the Army where he deployed to Iraq for 16 months with the 1st Infantry Brigade. He then served in the Navy where he was onboard the first carrier group that responded to the Japan Tsunami Crises in 2011, according to Fransen. She added that those wishing to help the family could donate at fundrazr.com/jeffalexander or by contacting the National Weather Service at 406-228-2850. Additionally, Rex Morgan and others at the Weather Service are raffling off a DPMS Oracle .223/5.56 Rifle to raise funds for the family. Tickets are $25 apiece with a hope to sell 200 tickets, and they are available by contacting Morgan at 263-0133. Fransen said, "the [Alexander] family is overwhelmed with the outpouring of prayers and support from so many in the community that they weren't expecting."