Parish left reeling but grateful after explosion

UPDATE: Structural engineers and the State Fire Marshal examined both school buildings and neither has been condemned, said Father Bernard Starman, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in O’Neill and president of the schools.

Under a new lease agreement, classes for St. Mary schools will be held temporarily in facilities at Faith Community Church while repairs are made.

The St. Patrick parish center, where the explosion occurred, was deemed a total loss, as was a house that was near the explosion. Other homes in the neighborhood were damaged, but less significantly.

UPDATE: A 58-year-old man, who was linked to the explosion, was taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha following the blast.

His condition at the hospital was not immediately available.

About 50 minutes before the explosion, the man had been driving a vehicle that struck a natural gas line at low speed, according to a preliminary investigation. The collision damaged the gas line and filled the parish with gas, which eventually ignited, causing the explosion and fire.

The man cooperated with police, the Holt County Attorney’s Office said, and there was no evidence that the man had been driving under the influence of any intoxicating substances.

EARLIER VERSION OF THE ARTICLE:

An early-morning explosion destroyed the parish center at St. Patrick Parish in O’Neill on Monday.

No injuries were reported, according to initial news reports.

Nearby buildings, including Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital and St. Mary elementary and high schools, were damaged.

Terry Miles, chief information officer for the O’Neill Fire & Rescue Department, said that the grade school will probably have to be condemned. Both schools were closed following the blast.

The hospital closed for the day after emergency room doors were blown off the building and an ambulance garage door was heavily damaged, according to the Norfolk Daily News. Patients were directed to other area hospitals for treatment. The hospital is expected to reopen on Wednesday but will be inspected by structural engineers before it does, Miles said.

Residents of houses across the street from the parish center were evacuated after the blast, reported at 5:55 a.m., blew out windows and shook one home off its foundation slightly, according to the Daily News. They were able to return to their homes later Monday morning.

The Nebraska State Fire Marshal was investigating the cause of the explosion, thought initially to be a gas leak.

Damage was estimated to be in the millions.

One blessing despite all the devastation was the timing of the blast, said Father Ross Burkhalter, associate pastor of St. Patrick Parish. 

The parish center housed parish offices, but staff members were not yet in the building. Students and faculty, likewise, had not yet arrived at the elementary and high schools which are connected by a walkway.

“If it had happened two hours later it would have been a disaster we wouldn’t have been able to handle,” Miles said.

TERRY MILES/HOLT COUNTY INDEPENDENT

St. Patrick Parish expressed its gratitude on Facebook:

“Our prayers are with all the emergency responders,” according to the post on Monday. The parish thanked them “for their quick response to the explosion and burning down of the Parish Center. While we are overwhelmed by the inevitable loss, we are beyond grateful for the timing that no one was in the buildings.”

A community rosary was to be prayed Monday at 6 p.m.