OREGON, Wis. — No one was injured in an explosion that destroyed part of an Oregon duplex Friday morning, according to local authorities.
Oregon Fire Chief Glenn Linzmeier said emergency crews responded to the 800 block of Oregon Parks Avenue around 8:30 a.m. after Oregon public works crews reported hearing an explosion in the area. Minutes later, area residents called 911 to report the same thing as police and fire crews were already preparing to respond.
Linzmeier said three buildings sustained damage, one of which is considered a “total loss,” adding the structure was a duplex that was under construction. Another building next to that home also caught fire.
Oregon fire crews called in additional help from surrounding communities after issuing a box alarm. Alliant Energy and other partners also responded to the scene to work through the cause of the fire.
Oregon Police Chief Jen Pagenkopf said her department responded to the scene to help with evacuations, which included children from the nearby Journey Above Child Care Center.
“I believe the evacuation couldn’t have gone any better, and that really came down to our local partners,” Pagenkopf said, speaking of the Oregon School District’s role in evacuating the childcare center.
Alliant energy officials helped stabilize the area by shutting of gas lines and electricity between N Bergamont Blvd and Apline Pkwy. Linzmeier said once gas lines were pinched off at both ends of the home explosion crews worked toward the point of origin to ensure all other homes were safe.
As of 11:30 a.m., Linzmeier said no one had been found inside any of the affected buildings. No injuries have been reported, either. Families were also being allowed to return to their homes as of late Friday morning.
READ MORE: ‘I saw debris falling’: Blast that leveled Oregon duplex leaves residents shaken
“We’ve had a lot of reports that a lot of people have been shook up. Like you said, this is a very peaceful, laid-back, quiet community,” Linzmeier said. “This explosion really shook a lot of people, really put a lot of people at alert ’cause it’s just something that doesn’t happen in the Village of Oregon.”
Around 5 p.m. Friday, firefighters returned to the scene to check possible hot spots to ensure a fire doesn’t rekindle.
Officials said they do not suspect foul play was involved but are still investigating. Linzmeier said early findings show the explosion appeared to be high and out of the ground.
On, Wednesday Oregon Police responded to an attempted armed robbery on that same block of Oregon Parks Avenue. On Friday the suspect in that incident was still at large but Pagenkopf said they have no reason to believe that those two incidents were connected.
News 3 Now’s Arman Rahman, Nicole Herzog, Braden Ross, Mark Schilling, Lance Heidt and Jim Rader contributed to this report.
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