PIQUA — A man remains in the hospital after his house caught fire and exploded in Piqua on Tuesday afternoon.
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Brian Markin, who was identified by family members, is listed as being in critical condition, a spokesperson for Miami Valley Hospital confirmed.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, Markin was transported from the scene with second-degree burns.
Several people called 911 to report the explosion on Tuesday afternoon.
“A house just exploded on Covington Avenue,” one woman told emergency dispatchers.
The calls brought firefighters and police to the intersection of Covington Avenue and McKinley Avenue.
Another caller told dispatchers that someone ran into the burning home.
“Yes, there is fire, but — oh my God, somebody just ran in there! I think he found somebody," the 911 caller said.
News Center 7 spoke to that Good Samaritan, Julio Deleom, who said he was at Sunset Meat Market across the street when the explosion happened.
“I ran in, yelled for help, and the guy was lying on the floor, so I picked him up and pulled him out,” Deleom said. “I kept asking, is there anybody else in the house? He said ‘No, it’s just me.’”
Deleom got Markin to the sidewalk, where he realized the victim sustained bad burns.
Deleom was also taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
As shown on News Center 7 at 5:00, Fire Chief Lee Adams said after the victims were taken to the hospital, crews faced a fire that initially couldn’t be put out.
“So what happens when we have free-flowing gas in a fire like that, we do need to control that fire to prevent it from spreading, but we can’t extinguish that until the gas is ready to be put out,” Adams said.
Gas company crews eventually shut down the gas in the area on Tuesday. CenterPoint Energy returned to the scene on Wednesday to ensure there damage to the underground pipes and ensure that there wasn’t any pre-existing damage to the pipes.
Adams said there is no evidence, so far, of a pre-existing leak, but natural gas finding a source of ignition is the most likely explanation of what happened.
The official cause of the fire and explosion has not been determined yet.
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