Trending Topics

1 dead, 5 injured in La. house explosion

First responders arrived to find the Ragley house leveled, on fire and debris thrown some distance

Fatal Home Explosion Louisiana

This image made from video provided by KPLC-TV shows debris from a house in Ragley, La., that was destroyed by an explosion, killing a teenage boy from Alabama and injuring other people on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.

KPLC-TV via AP

Associated Press

RAGLEY, La. — Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an explosion that destroyed a southwest Louisiana home, killing a teenage boy from Alabama and injuring five other people.

Louisiana State Fire Marshal Bryan J. Adams said the explosion happened Saturday morning. Firefighters arrived to find the house burning. The explosion leveled the house, throwing debris for some distance and seriously damaging nearby vehicles and a metal outbuilding.


Regularly reviewing and practicing MCI skills will make sure EMS personnel are ready to act when a major incident happens

Killed was Deuce Barrere, 16, of Theodore, Alabama, local news outlets reported. Five other people were taken to hospitals including Barrere’s older sister and mother. Adams said a toddler who was in the house was not injured and is being cared for by relatives.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy for this family and community,” Adams said in a statement.

Friends of Duece Barrere who gathered on Dauphin Island, Alabama, on Sunday to remember him told WALA-TV that he was a high school cheerleader.

“When I was upset, he always made sure it was good before I left, and he always made sure everybody here was happy,” said Adalynn Hall, who said she was Barrere’s girlfriend.

Some nearby residents told KPLC-TV that the explosion felt like an earthquake, and that the resulting shock wave knocked items to the floor in their homes and caused power outages.

Ragley is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Lake Charles.


Creating an effective tabletop training exercise for pre-planning MCI response
Trending
Greater Manchester Police say the assailant drove into worshippers, then began stabbing before officers fatally shot him
Medicare will pay claims without add-ons if a funding deal takes more than two weeks
Powell County Paramedic Eddie Barnes won’t be penalized for administering antivenom to a snake-bite victim despite lacking a wilderness certification.
The U.S. Forest Service is delaying prevention grants, while FEMA and the National Weather Service trim services and warn of funding gaps