ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – A community is grieving the loss of two children after a home explosion Friday morning.
First responders tried entering the home located near U.S. Highway 94 and Defiance Road but were unsuccessful. The children were four and six years old.
“We are a small community and we know each other, we love each other, we take care of each other,” Dan Tripp, a family friend, said. “And when one of our members suffers, we’re all there to support each other.”
Adults were present at the house when the explosion occurred and survived with minor injuries. One St. Charles County police officer suffered minor injuries after attempting to rescue the children.
“I do know we had some very brave firefighters make entry, search, and eventually find the victims,” Fire Chief Skip Stephens said. “They did everything they could do this morning.”
Joe Brazil, St. Charles County council member and family friend, was on the scene this morning.
“It’s hard stuff to see. I talk to (the mother) almost daily,” Brazil said. “We’re all a very tight-knit community down here so this is tough.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“What we are going to do right now is we are going to pray,” Tripp said. “We are going to pray for the family (and) we are going to pray for each other, and God will get us through this.”
