An Idaho couple sustained life-threating injuries when a boiler at First Congregational United Church of Christ exploded March 21. The husband and wife were taken to Port Neuf Medical Center where they were stabilized before being airlifted to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.
When first responders arrived at the church, located on North Garfield Avenue in Pocatello, church members told them that the couple had been performing maintenance in the boiler room when the explosion occurred around 2:15 p.m.
One of the firefighters told KPVI that the “significant blast” blew doors off their hinges and significantly damaged the boiler room and adjacent areas. He said the couple suffered burn and blast injuries.
Witnesses told local media that the force of the blast threw Norm into the hallway adjacent to the boiler room where he was discovered calling for help. Kathy, who had sustained serious burns, was found outside the church near the exterior entry to the boiler room beneath a door which had been blown off of its hinges.
Firefighters and witnesses who were in the church at the time of the explosion think natural gas in the boiler somehow ignited.
