Large fireball' consumes fish house on Upper Red Lake, injures 4 occupants
Two of the injured individuals were transported for care via air ambulance.
Four people suffered injuries when a fiery blast consumed the fish house they were occupying on a northern Minnesota lake.
The incident happened around 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2022, when a 911 caller reported an explosion at a fish house on Upper Red Lake, according to the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office. Two men and two women were in the fish house, and told authorities they were using 20-pound propane tanks and a "heating mechanism" just before the blast.
They heard a hissing sound and closed the valves on the tank. That's when a "large fireball filled the fish house," the sheriff's office reported.
Emergency personnel made their way to the scene as the fish house's occupants were transported first to a nearby resort to wait. On shore, a husband and wife with emergency medical training were treating one of the men and one of the women, according to DNR CO Corey Sura, who was among the officers to respond. The sheriff's office said they had burn-related injuries.
By the time deputies arrived to the resort, the two other individuals injured in the explosion had been taken via ambulance to the Waskish Airport, where two air ambulances were waiting to transport them elsewhere, the sheriff's office said.
The extent of their injuries and their condition as of Tuesday morning was unknown.
Deputies went to the site of the fish house, about 2.5 miles from shore on the northeast side of Upper Red Lake. They found several parts of the structure's exterior were melted and burned. Deputies also noted two propane tanks inside that appeared to still be intact.