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Winter Park gas explosion update

Emergency responders at Fir drive in Old Town Winter Park at the scene of a gas explosion in a residence on Sept. 1.
Photo Courtesy of Paul Collins |

The cause of the leak that lead to the explosion at a home in Winter Park on Thursday, September 1 has not yet been determined.

The preliminary investigation revealed that three people were installing new carpet in the home located at 98 Fir Drive in Winter Park, known as Old Town. When one of the workers plugged a carpet iron into an electrical outlet, the explosion occurred causing all three workers to be thrown off of their feet. Two of the employees suffered only minor injuries and were treated by Grand County EMS and released at the scene. Mark Burg of Tabernash suffered upper body and trauma and was airlifted to a Denver hospital.

Colorado Xcel media contact Mark Stutz said they were unsure of what caused the leak at this time.



Stutz said Xcel did replace the local gas distribution to the Old Town area beginning on September 17 following the explosion. Stutz said they replaced the gas main, a total of 1,000 feet. He said replacing the main was a good time to do so because of given recent events, and that the main needed to be upgraded to provide service to the area that is growing in residencies. Stutz said the homeowners in the area were great to work with and the project was completed in four days.

The Fraser/Winter Park Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident.


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