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Provo house explosion still under investigation

Posted at 7:05 PM, Mar 17, 2014
and last updated 2014-03-17 21:06:23-04

PROVO -- A Provo woman is in serious condition after her home exploded Sunday afternoon.

Investigators worked Monday to find out why the house burst into flames.

The Provo City Fire Department is still not sure what caused the explosion, but they say that if neighbors had not risked their lives to save 54-year-old Glenda Wyatt she might not have made it out of the home alive.

"I just wanted to get her out. I wasn't thinking anything, I just wanted to get her out," said neighbor Robert Shephard, who was the first person to go inside the collapsed home.

Wyatt was screaming for help inside the home. The wheelchair bound woman was pinned underneath her roof.

"I wasn't scared at all, I just went in, I wanted to get her out," Shephard said.

Tara Huish’s brother also rushed into the house

"They located her but she was piled with a bunch of debris on her," Huish said.

Shephard along with the help from another man pulled Wyatt out of the rubble.

"I think that the worst part was seeing her burnt body and her hair singed, that was the worst part," Huish said.

Less than a minute later the house was engulfed in flames.

"We risk a little to save a little and we risk a lot to save a lot. In this case they risked a lot of their own personal safety for a lot -- a human life," said Captain Dean York of Provo City Fire Department.

Investigators say it appears to be a natural gas explosion. Wyatt told them that she has had problems with her stove in the past.

"It's amazing to see the damage anytime you see this but it's more amazing when someone comes out alive," York said.

The Provo Fire Department says there is $120,000 to $160,000 worth of damage.

Although they have an idea as to why the explosion happened they won't know for sure for two to three weeks.