EAST BERNSTADT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Monty Teague says he'd just gotten off the phone with his sister Shirley Wynn. He says she'd gone next door to check on his wife and when she returned her home exploded.
Teague says, "I was trying to get information. My wife told me that there was a big loud noise and then she seen smoke coming out from the building."
Crews from East Bernstadt Fire and Rescue say they were called out Wednesday afternoon around 3:15. When they got to the home, the chief says there was heavy smoke and flames. They were eventually able to contain it. Kentucky State Police are investigating, and right now, they believe a propane tank being used with a heater may have been leaking.
"The doctor told me she would be alright last night in the ER. I seen her twice but she wasn't able to talk or anything like that,” says Teague.
Wynn suffered severe burns on about 80% of her body. Her brother is still in shock.
He says, "I don't know how the gas leaked out, but it had to be a gas leak somewhere for it to do what it did."
Wynn's brother says she's been living in this area close to them for around the last seven years. But it's only been about a year that she was in her new home.
"We've tried to work on her place there and get it all straightened up and fixed up for her,” says Teague.
He says he's hoping his sister will recover soon but he knows she still has a long road ahead. He and his wife live just feet away from her home. He says she'll always have a place to come back to.
Teague says, "Well the camper in the back, we'll have to get another window for it.... We're gonna try to get her where she can have a place to stay there for right now. But if not, she can stay with us too you know, as long as she wants to."
